Dunhuang Manuscript Liturgies and Their Models: Classification and Naming

: This article gives an overview of recent thinking on the typology and structure of the liturgical texts found among the Dun-huang manuscripts. The author proposes dividing the thousands of liturgical texts found at Dunhuang into two main categories: litur-gical protocols ( zhaiyi 齋儀 ) and liturgies ( zhaiwen 齋文 ). Liturgical protocols (sometimes called ‘written protocols’ [ shuyi 書儀 ]) were used as references for drafting liturgies. Liturgies, written up on the basis of these liturgical protocols, were functional documents that were read aloud at all kinds of ritual gatherings. We can also divide the structure of the liturgies into five parts: the ‘opening’ ( haotou 號 頭 ), ‘exaltation of virtues’ ( tande 歎德 ), ‘liturgical purpose’ ( zhaiyi 齋意 ), ‘ritual area’ ( daochang 道場 ), and ‘adornment’ ( zhuangyan 莊 嚴 ). This structure is roughly applicable to liturgical protocols and liturgies with all manners of content, including hymns of praise, apotropaic rituals, healing rites, and mourning rites, though there are of course many variations in the specific arrangement and sequence of the parts. This article also touches on the commonly used term ‘prayer texts’ ( yuanwen 願文 ). It is suggested that this is a specific kind of liturgical text and that the term cannot be used as a blanket reference to the broader category of ‘liturgical text’.

T he Dunhuang document cache preserves thousands of liturgies (zhaiwen 齋文: used in Buddhist ritual gatherings of various types), as well as liturgical models (zhaiwen yangshi 齋文樣式: used as references when drafting actual liturgies). Some of these documents survive only in one or two manuscripts; more commonly, they appear in dozens of manuscripts.
Upon glancing through their contents, we find that these documents include nearly every type of prayer directed toward the Buddha by the people of the Tang (618-907), Five Dynasties (907-979), and Song (960-1279). The received Buddhist canon contains very few texts of this kind, with the exception of a few prayer texts preserved in the Guang Hongming ji 廣弘明集 [An Expansion of the Collection for Glorifying and Elucidating (Buddhism)] by Sengyou 僧 祐 (445-518). Consequently, these documents are exceptionally valuable resources for the study of medieval Buddhist history and the history of medieval social life.
In recent years, this set of materials has received increasing attention in the international scholarly world. Chinese and Japanese scholars have published a considerable amount on the topic, and American academics have started participating as well.
Stephen Teiser, for example, has recently published research on performativity and liturgies, as well as on the subset of liturgies known as 'illness texts' (huanwen 患文). 1 In addition, in October, 2018, Columbia University held a workshop titled 'Ganmon Liturgies in Premodern East Asia', wherein American and Japanese scholars discussed liturgies from Dunhuang and Japan. 2 The success of the forum suggests that Dunhuang liturgies have captured the interest of American academia.
In September of 1986, the Dunhuang yishu zuixin mulu 敦煌遺書 最新目錄 [New Catalogue of the Dunhuang Manuscripts; hereafter the New Catalogue], edited by Huang Yongwu 黃永武, was published in Taiwan. 5 This catalogue took stock of new results in the field of Dunhuang studies both in China and abroad since the publication of the General Catalogue. In its classification of documents-particularly Buddhist scripture-the New Catalogue represents a considerable advancement over its predecessor.
Although the categories in the New Catalogue are slightly less numerous than those in the General Catalogue, the system of classification is still quite haphazard, and confusion surrounding the names of the categories remains unresolved. Therefore, if we do not apply a rational typology to liturgies and liturgical models, and if we fail to resolve the confusion surrounding the names of these categories, we will not be able to conduct effective research on these fascinating documents. This article attempts a cursory investigation of these issues.
A careful reader may have already noticed that, in the General Catalogue and New Catalogue, the categories related to liturgies and liturgical models can be condensed into two main groupings. The first group contains the first nine of seventeen categories in the General Catalogue and the first seven of twelve categories in the New Catalogue. Although the categories in this first group are numerous, their names (which all include terms like shuyi 書儀 [protocol], wenfan 文範 [exemplar], wenshi 文式 [script], chengshi 程式 [program], and fanwen 範文 [model text]) show that the cataloguers believed these were not functional documents (i.e., documents that were not actually used on ritual occasions). Rather, they were models providing a reference for those who drafted such functional documents. The remaining categories comprise our second grouping. Names like Zhu za zhaiwen 諸雜齋文 (various assorted liturgies), Shimen zawen 釋門雜文 (assorted Buddhist texts), Shizi lifo wen 釋 子禮佛文 (Buddhist texts for worshipping the Buddha), and Lichan wen 禮懺文 (texts on worship and repentance) suggest that the cataloguers believed the texts in this grouping were indeed functional documents.
Admittedly, the above groups are not sufficiently precise, and they are, moreover, obscured by the inconsistent terminology used for the categories they include. Nevertheless, these groupings constitute the foundation from which we must launch our investigation. From this starting point, our first task will be to clearly demarcate our two main categories: 'liturgies' and 'liturgical models'. Our second task will be to give these two categories distinct, consistent labels that reflect the reality of their use, as well as to probe into their respective characteristics.
First, we will examine zhaiwen yangshi 齋文樣式 ('liturgical models'). These documents are identical to what are sometimes called shuyi 書儀 ('protocols'). They were never used at actual ritual functions; instead, they served as references for those who drafted actual, functional liturgies. For the most part, they have the format of a document (shu 書), with an introduction (xu 序), table of contents (mulu 目錄), and main text (zhengwen 正文). The 'Zhaiwan wen yijuan bing xu' 齋琬文一卷並序 [Jadeite Text for Zhai in One Scroll, with Preface] hereafter, 'Jadeite Text for Zhai', serves as a representative example of this category. 6 This manuscript preserves the preface, table of contents, and part of the main text of a set of 'liturgical models'. As we have seen previously, there are nearly ten separate terms for this kind of 'liturgical model' in modern catalogues. What label, then, should we use to encompass all of these terms?
With a few omissions, the preface of P.2940 ( Figure 1) briefly reads as follows: Due to the change from the 'era of true dharma' (zhengfa 正法) to the 'era of the semblance dharma' (xiangfa 像法), some people became corrupted and some remained pure. Some people tried to rely on teaching of terms to find the truth, while others borrowed sound and light to realize the way. Therefore, people tried to set up expedient and non-standard ways to entice people, showing a means 5 Huang, Dunhuang yishu zuixin mulu. 6 This scroll of manuscript only preserves the preface, table of contents and part of the main text, but there are several manuscript fragments in other fascicles of this text. to direct their casual teachings. And so, the noble worthies of the distant past first instituted zhaiyi 齋儀 ('liturgical protocols'), described the regulations for encouragement and guidance, and wished to establish the track of guidance. Though their words are amazing and elegant and their arguments are broad and lofty, their record of worldly affairs was not yet complete and their talk of mundane circumstances still contained omissions. Those who came to learn did not change their ignorance. Externally, they do not have a strict standard and internally, they lack the skill to adapt. When they were asked to sing and guide in the grand banquets, most cannot speak with their tongues. When they tried to spread their teaching, they kept their lips closed to the monastic masses. How could this not attract mockery close by and be shrouded in mystery afar? It darkens the intense light of the traces of sages, and eliminates hope for the sentient beings. I am no more than a withered [monk] in the Saṃgha and a mote of dust on the path of nirvāṇa; my knowledge is inadequate, and my intelligence is not agile. [When I] study the words [of past worthies], I run across […] which are splendid and of aspirations for the Way, so I edit them into a fascicle of texts exalting the Buddha. Thus, beginning with serene proclamations of the virtues of the Sage, it will conclude with blessings for the many powers. Herein one finds both the mundane and the [ultimately] true, some patterned and some plain. Wherein the ear and eye engage, therein my humble tracks have passed, and I have brought together these detailed records for whatever might be prayed for. In all, there are more than eighty items, collected together in ten ranks. [The system] is similar to the older items [formerly] instituted, though I have selected and rejected [aspects] of the former models. It is divided into upper, middle, and lower sections, and can be transmitted to As the quoted material shows, this Zhaiwan wen could also be called a 'Tanfo wen' 歎佛文 (Text on Exalting the Buddha). The contents suggest, however, that it is no more than a revision of and supplement to 'liturgical protocols' (zhaiyi 齋儀) created by 'noble worthies of the distant past' 遠代高德. In all likelihood, the 'worthies of the distant past' indicated here are some worthy monks from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period (420-589).
The In the past, when the Buddhist Dharma first spread, people made 'zhai gatherings' (zhaiji 齋集), chanting the Buddha's name, and rituals were conducted through texts. By the middle of the night, when they were extremely tired, they would do things that help with realization so they will ask a person who had longstanding virtue to take a seat and lecture on the Buddhist dharma, tell historical stories (nidāna), or refer to parables (avadāna). Later, Huiyuan of Lushan was accomplished in the Way, and his talents were elegantly displayed. Whenever there was a religious gathering, he would personally take a high seat, and become the head instructor. He first clarified the karma of the three lives and then explained the great meaning of the gathering. His teaching spread to posterity and it became a perpetual regulation. This shows that there were no 'liturgical protocols' before the time of the famous monk Huiyuan 慧遠 (334-416) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), and that the passage 'he first clarified the karma of the three lives and explained the great meaning of the gathering' (先明三世因果, 卻辯一齋大意) was the basic content of later liturgies (see the liturgical texts quoted below). However, since it was the first of its kind at that time, it may have been relatively simple and spread by passing it down from teacher to disciple, so no written text was formed. In addition, 'Shouqin pian' 受請篇 [Chapter on Invitations] included in fascicle fifty-five of Fayuan zhulin 法苑珠 8 Gaoseng zhuan, T no. 2059, 50: 13.417c8-13; cf. Tang et al., colla. and annot., Gaoseng zhuan, 521. 林 [Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden] records that Wei Shidu 衛士度 (active 236-290) of the Eastern Jin was 'erudite and wrote eight-repentance texts, which are still used by those who participated in a zhai at the end of the Jin' (善有文辭, 作八關懺文, 晉末齋者尚用之). 9 The liturgy made by Wei Shidu was used as a literary model by his contemporaries, indicating that there was no 'liturgical protocol' up until the end of the Eastern Jin.
The biography of Shi Baochang 釋寶唱 (?-505+) in Xu Gaoseng zhuan 續高僧傳 [Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks] states: In the fourth year of Tianjian (508), [Baochang] came back to the capital, and was then invested as the head of the Xin'an Monastery 新 安寺. As believed by the emperor (Liang Wudi), are the clouds and thunder from near and far not becoming clear, the wind and rain becoming unobstructed, and the hundred grains reaping abundantly due to taking from the Three Treasures above, relying on the Four Heavenly Kings in the middle, and borrowing (aid) from the divine dragons below, and receiving the aid from the spirits?-Only then can merit cover the people and let them enjoy the great virtue now. However, these texts are scattered in different sections and it is hard to find them successfully. [The emperor] ordered [Bao]chang to search for them in the various sections to satisfy the needs of the time. It can either build merits and be used to pray to eliminate disasters, or perform rituals of repentance to remove obstacles, or make offerings to receive gods and ghosts, or make sacrifices to the Dragon King. The divisions total nearly one hundred fascicles. The gods of the eight legions take up three fascicles. These include the hidden and profound, and describe the past and present in detail. This 'collection' (jilu 集錄) has extensive and complicated content, but given that its content 'can either build merits and be used to pray to eliminate disasters, or perform rituals of repentance to remove obstacles' (建福禳災, 禮懺除障) it was probably used as a reference for people drafting liturgies to set up Buddhist gatherings. This part of the content can be regarded as the predecessor of 'liturgical protocols' (zhaiyi 齋儀).
Furthermore, the Chu sanzang ji ji includes 'two fascicles of Lifo wen 禮佛文 [Performing Buddhist Rituals Text]' (禮佛文二 卷). 11 Since the original text has been lost, its content is no longer known. However, the 'Jaiwan wen' cited above is also called 'Tanfo wen', so the Lifo wen is also very likely to be the same kind of text as a 'liturgical protocol'. Fascicles five and seventeen, respectively, of the Xu Gaoseng zhuan, record that Emperor Wu of Liang or Chen Bozhi 陳伯智 (active 582-605), Prince Yongyang 永明王 of the Chen Dynasty, 'made prayer texts by hand' (手製願文) or 'composed prayer texts in person' (躬著願文), probably with reference to the previous fanwen 範文 (liturgical protocol). 12 In sum, although we are not sure who the 'noble worthies of the distant past' in the above quotation were, we can safely assume that there were already 'liturgical protocols' for people to refer to when drafting liturgies in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
The term 'liturgical protocol' is related, in its origins, to the term 'protocol' (shuyi 書儀). Protocols were used as references when both literati and commoners composed secular letters; the genre had appeared as early as the Han (206 BCE-220 CE). During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, various kinds of protocols circulated widely, 13 and even though scholar-monks considered secular genres 'external documents', they would, for the most part, have been well aware of such texts. Therefore, these 'noble worthies' were inevitably influenced by the name 'protocol' which they saw in their daily life when they were writing liturgical protocol, so they called the documents they published with the same characteristic as 'liturgical protocols'. As for liturgical protocols that were also referred to as 'Jadeite Text for Zhai' or 'Text on Exalting the Buddha', they were merely different names of the same type of text. This is a similar situation as the Yueyi tie 月儀帖 [Calligraphy of the Monthly Greetings] of the Tang Dynasty being referred to as 'Shi'er yue youpeng xiangwen shu' 十二月友朋相聞書 [Letters of Communication between Friends in the Twelfth Month]. 14 In the Tang Dynasty, the types and names of Buddhist zhai gatherings developed further. For the 'liturgical protocols' published in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it appears that 'their record of worldly affairs was not yet complete and their talk of mundane circumstances still contained omissions' (載世事之未周, 語俗緣而 尚缺), and they could not fully meet the actual needs of the time. So, the author of the 'Jadeite Text for Zhai' added more content to it, so that could 'compose a set of texts exalting the Buddha. Thus, beginning with serene proclamations of the virtues of the Sage, it will conclude with blessings for the many Powers' (裁成《歎佛文》 一部. 爰自和宣聖德, 終乎庇佑群靈), and he 'brought together these detailed records for whatever might be prayed for' (應有所 祈者, 並此詳載). Therefore, the 'Jadeite Text for Zhai' is actually a new type of 'liturgical protocol' that replaced the older 'liturgical protocol'. In this regard, the documents of liturgical models from the Dunhuang cache should also be 'liturgical protocols' or revised versions, so we should unify the many names related to the liturgical protocols in the existing catalogue, and refer to all of them as 'liturgical protocol'.
The second main grouping is the 'liturgy' (zhaiwen 齋文) proper. We will use this term to refer to the various types of liturgies that were actually read aloud by monastics at different kinds of zhai gatherings, or to liturgical compendia made up of such texts. Generally, documents of this kind will have their titles (e.g., 'Linkuang wen' 臨壙文 [Pre-burial Texts], 'Suhuan wen' 俗患文 [Text for a Sick Layperson], 'Shezhai wen' 社齋文 [Text for an Association Ritual], 'Yin shafo wen' 印沙佛文 [Text for Stamping Buddhas on the Sand], etc.) written out at the beginning of the text, 15 though there are also some that do not give their titles. 16 Although liturgies are sometimes found in stand-alone, single text manuscripts, they are also gathered into liturgical compendia ranging in size from two or three to several dozens of texts. Compendia of these documents usually contain only the texts of the liturgies themselves-i.e., the texts are not preceded by any preface or table of contents. When such texts survive in only one or two texts, the General Catalogue and New Catalogue will often use the title of the manuscript as the label for a category. This kind of text is plentiful, so except in cases where the catalogue lists many subheadings and gives the title of each text, 17 the catalogues often lump these texts together under headings like 'assorted liturgies' (Za zhaiwen 雜齋文) and 'assorted Buddhist liturgies' (Shimen zawen 釋門雜文). As we discussed above, there are eight or nine such categories.
When studying these documents, we are faced not only with the problem of unifying the various kinds of names from the existing catalogues, but additionally, the names such as 'assorted liturgies', and 'assorted Buddhist liturgies' could lead readers to think such documents are functional documents. In fact, such documents have the dual nature of being both functional documents and 'liturgical protocols'. Their real use is reflected in the fact that they can be directly taken to the relevant religious gathering to be read. When a certain monk takes a certain liturgy to the religious gathering to read it, this liturgy also becomes a functional document. However, 15  a 'liturgical protocol' must be processed before it can be read at the religious gathering (details below). A liturgy having the features of a 'liturgical protocol' refers to the fact that each liturgy can be used for every religious gathering of its kind. For example, the 'she liturgy' applicable to the religious gathering established by She A also applies to the religious gathering established by She B, and also applies to the religious gathering established by She C, and so on. Therefore, we should take their dual nature into account when assigning names to these kinds of texts.  (Jierong Text) or Jierong wen yiben 戒榮文一本 (One Piece of Jierong Text) at the end. These epilogues, especially the last two, indicate that these texts belong to Jierong. If anyone invited him, he would go to a gathering with this fascicle of the text; if a linkuang zhai 臨壙齋 (Pre-burial zhai) is set up (whether it is the Zhang family or the Li family), he would study the Linkuang text; just replace the character 'certain' (mou 某) in the text with the name of a specific person or group. Therefore, the name Jierong wenben can reflect the nature of these documents as both functional documents and having the characteristics of liturgical protocols. As far as we know, it is not rare for liturgies and liturgical collections preserved in Dunhuang writings such as the Jierong wenben to be owned by monks or kept in the hands of monks. Therefore, we can collectively call this type of documents the 'liturgical texts'; the collection composed of this type of documents can be, I suggest, called 'Collection of Liturgical Texts' (zhaiwen wenben ji 齋文文本 集). 19 Although we have combined the different labels for our two kinds of documents into the two categories of 'liturgical protocols' and 'liturgies', and we have elaborated on the differences in their basic characteristics, we still have not entirely resolved the problems surrounding the classification of these documents. Many of the documents from Dunhuang are no longer intact, and many of the liturgical protocols and liturgies from Dunhuang are badly damaged. Liturgical protocols that preserve a preface and table of contents, such as P.2940, are not at all common (moreover, the main text of P.2940 is incomplete). Consequently, many liturgical protocols resemble liturgical compendia, containing only the liturgical models that appear in the body of the protocol. As a result, they are quite easily mixed up with compendia of actual liturgical texts. Such mix-ups have made their way into current catalogues. For example, P.3765 preserves a she liturgy that also appears in S.5957 and P.3276V. In the General Catalogue and New Catalogue, however, these documents, which are completely identical in content and are in fact the same liturgy, are placed under different headings. The General Catalogue classifies P.3765 under Zhu za zhaiwen 諸雜齋文 (Various Assorted Liturgies), without any subheading. In the New Catalogue, this manuscript is listed under the subheading shewen 社文 (Association Text). The General Catalogue and New Catalogue classify S.5957 as a Shimen yingyong wenfan 釋門應用文範 (practical Buddhist exempla), without a subheading. P.3276V is classified under za zhaiwen 雜齋文 (assorted liturgies) in the General Catalogue, but is placed under she zhaiwen 社齋文 (Association Liturgies) in the New Catalogue.
Thus, the same document is classified as an exemplar in one catalogue and a functional text in the other. In order to prevent further misclassifications, we should examine more closely the distinctions between, on one hand, the liturgical models found in liturgical protocols and, on the other hand, the texts of liturgies proper.
For the convenience of explaining this issue, we first quote the 'She zhaiwen' 社齋文 [She Liturgy] in the 'She zhaiwen wenben ji' 社齋文 文本集 [She Liturgical Collection] of P.3545 (Figure 2) as follows: Line 1. The she liturgy 社齋文: I heard that as the light shines on Vulture Peak, the great awakening is disseminated with deep compassion; It is exclaimed in the serpent spirit's 蓋聞光暉 (輝) 鷲嶺, 弘{ 佛} 20 大覺以深慈; 敷演龍 Line 2. palace, and parallels the excellent merit of the heavenly lights.
[It] widely opens the gate of convenience, and greatly displays the path of the bridge. Those who took a vow will 宮, 契天明之勝福. 廣 開方便大門, 靡顯律 (=津?) 梁之路. 歸依者有障 Line 3. certainly have their obstacles eliminated, and those who have merits transferred will have all their disasters annihilated. Therefore [they] know the power of the Buddhas, they are great! At present, for the hosts of the zhai sitting at the fore 必除, 迴向者無災不殄. 故知 諸佛威力, 其大矣哉! 厥今坐前齋主 Line 4. those holding the incenser to make a vow and state their intention to hold the 'association of the three long zhai months' as a festive gathering of preserving merit and virtue. 捧爐啟願所申意者, 奉為三長邑儀 (=義?) 保(=報?)願功德之嘉會也.
Line 5. The she members are elite clans of high standing and famous families of one hundred prefectures; they are like the jade leaves and the fine branches, the fragrance of orchids and the scent of 惟諸社眾 乃並是高門勝族, 百郡名家; 玉葉瓊枝, 蘭芬桂 Line 6. osmanthus. [They were] loyal to the state when they went to serve and filial to their families when they came home. Their good reputation was spread throughout the domain, with their elegance heard in the world. They are further dedicated to 馥. 出忠於國, 入 孝於家. 靈 (=令?) 譽播於寰中, 秀雅文 (=聞?) 〔於〕 手 (=宇?) 內. 加 以傾心 Line 7. the Three Jewels, project thoughts onto no birth; they overcame the dense forest tainted by attached love, and attained enlightened at the realm of tathatā. They realized the unreal nature of 三 寶, 攝念無生; 越憂 (愛) 染於稠林, 悟真如之境界; 替 (=體?) 榮華之 非 Line 8. the flourishing phenomena, and saw the nothingness of human affairs. They are determined to take refuge, and have the sentiment to cross to the other shore. Then they will make good karma together 實, 攬 (=覽?) 人事之虛無; 志在歸依, 情存彼岸. 遂乃共結良 緣, Line 9. and increase good fortune together. Both the ordinary and sacred people attended the zhai, sat on the lotus platform, paid homage to the three jewels, and sought after good 同增勝福, 會齋凡 聖, 蓮坐花臺, 崇敬三尊, 希求勝 Line 10. fortune. Therefore, no one is absent during the 'three months of abstinence in a year' (niansan 年三), and no one is gone during the 'six days of purification in a month' (yueliu 月六). The [niṣī]dana (mats) was established, and dharma sessions started. This 福. 故能年三不闕, 月六無虧. 建豎壇那, 聿修法會. 是 Line 11. day, the Lunar Hall was opened, the golden case was opened, the great vehicle turned, and a seat of brocade put on. The kitchen has the food offering for Cunda, and the furnace 日也, 開月 殿, 啟金感 (=函?), 轉天 (=大?) 乘, 敷錦席. 廚饌純陀之供, 爐 Line 12. burns the incense of the pure land. Flags and flowers are scattered in the pavilion, and the bells and musical instruments are placed across the seats for the dharma. This merit of setting up 焚淨 土之香; 幡花散滿 〔於〕 亭中, 鍾梵啾流于法席. 以資 〔此〕 設 Line 13. the zhai has limitless good causes. First, we use it to adorn the four celestial kings in the realm above, and the eight legions in the region below. 齋功德, 無限勝因, 先用莊嚴上界四王、下方八部. Line 14. May their powerful light blaze, protecting the state and saving the people, and may the lord live a thousand years, [may] the grain be abundant and harvested annually. We hold to the 伏願威光 熾盛, 護國求 (=救?) 人, 使主千秋, 年豐歲稔. 伏持勝 Line 15. great good. Then we use the great good to adorn the virtuous she members. May the calamities be dispelled, the blessings brought forth, and 善. 次用莊嚴諸賢社即體. 惟願災殃殄滅, 是福咸 臻; Line 16. may the deities and immortals descend in their power and gods offer blessings. May the seeds of bodhi, matching with buddha-[nature], send forth sprouts, and the thicket of afflictions 天仙 降靈, 神祇效恥(=祉?). 菩提種子, 配佛 〔性〕 以開牙 (=芽?); 煩惱稠林, Line 17. be blown by the wind of wisdom and drop its foliage. Also, we use the great merit to adorn the furnace-holding alms giver 惠風 飄而葉落. 又持勝福, 次用莊嚴持爐施主即體.
Line 18. We pray that fortune is like the spring grass, producing leaves and giving birth to flowers, [ This is a typical she liturgical text. This type of liturgical text is changed on the basis of the liturgical protocol. An example is the she liturgy in the collection of liturgical texts found in P.2058V, which was formed on the basis of the 'she association' (sheyi 社邑) in the liturgical protocol from P.3678V. In order to make readers clearly understand the difference between the liturgical model and the liturgical text itself in the 'liturgical protocol', and to further understand the relationship between the two, the full text of the two documents is cited as follows: Line 6. we hold a gathering of the lords of the town so that those sublime causes laid down in previous lives may send forth good shoots in the present lifetime, and so that karmic effects 有座前 〔合〕 邑諸公等乃妙因宿殖, 善牙(芽)發於金(今)生; 業果 Line 7. if previously pure, may make our attitude toward the Path firm in the present day. [We are] aware that the four material elements are without a master, and perceive that the five aggregates are all empty. Next 先淳, 道心堅於此日. 知四大而無主, 〔識〕 五蘊而皆空. 遂 Line 8. since we are able to make it so no one is absent during the 'three months of abstinence in a year' (niansan 年三), and during the 'six days of purification in a month' (yueliu 月六) 乃共結良緣, 同崇 邑義. 故能年三不缺, 月六 Line 9. no one is gone. We establish [niṣī]dana (mats) and reverently engage in ritual gatherings. Thus, banners and flowers drape the earth, and brahmic sounds 無虧. 建竪壇那, 聿修法會. 於是幡花布 地, 梵向(響) Line 10. rise to heaven. In furnaces, we burn the six particulars, and for victuals we supply the 'hundred flavours'. With this one meal, we offer to the Three Jewels, destroy the 'three poisons', drive off the 陵 (淩) 天. 爐焚六殊, 餐資百味. 以一食施三寶、滅三毒、去三 Line 11. 'three disasters', venerate the hundred flavours, make offerings to the ten directions, loosen the ten fetters, and provide [oneself] with the ten powers. ...we take the merit from organizing this zhai and rededicate it as a cause of 災、崇白(=百?)味、供十方、解 十纏而資十力. 與 (以) 此設齋功德, 迴向 Line 12. good fortune, using all of it for [spiritual] adornment. We pray that calamity is completely dispelled and that these blessings are all brought forth; that the deities and immortals descend in their power 福因, 盡用莊嚴. 惟願災殃殄滅, 萬福咸臻; 天仙降靈, Line 13. and the gods offer blessings; that our seeds of bodhi, matching with buddha-[nature], send forth sprouts; that the thicket of afflictions, blown by the wind of wisdom 神祇效恥(=祉?). 菩提種子, 配佛 〔性〕 以開牙(=芽?); 煩惱稠林, 惠風 Line 14. drops its foliage; that these sublime causes abide for many kalpas, that we lay down good effects in the present life, and that, although we find ourselves in the river of attachment, we journey 飄 而葉落. 妙因多劫, 殖果金(今)生. 須(雖)處愛河, 常遊 Line 15. forever in the sea of dharma; knowing that the body is an illusion, like a lightning bolt-not steady. So, having been able to establish good causes in advance, we 法海. 知身如幻, 非(飛)電不堅.

故得預竪良因, 崇斯福
Line 16. venerate this blessed gathering, pouring out our admiration for the precious kṣetra (the Buddhist monastery) and thinking reverently of the sāṃghika (the monastic assembly). With reverence, we welcome both sacred and ordinary people [among the assembly], and respectfully make offerings to them. We pray that 會; 傾心寶刹, 虎(= Line 17. the three thousand fetters, and the defilements, be washed with the water of the Dharma and dispersed like mist; and that the eighty thousand worldly sufferings be swept away by the beam of compassion and scattered forever.  Line 2. day. Be aware that the four material elements are without a master, and perceive that the five aggregates are all empty, we thus bind together our good karmic conditions and unite in revering 日. 知四大而無虧(=主?), 識五蘊而皆空. 遂乃共結良緣, 同崇 Line 3. the yiyi associations. Thus, since we are able to make it so no one is absent during the 'three months of abstinence in a year' (niansan 年三), and during the 'six days of purification in a month' (yueliu 月六) no one is gone, we establish [niṣī]dana (mats) and reverently engage in ritual gatherings 邑義. 故能年三不缺, 月六無虧; 建 竪壇那, 崇修法會.
Line 6. We pray that calamity is completely dispelled and that these blessings are all brought forth; that the deities and immortals descend in their power and the gods offer blessings; that our seeds of bodhi, The above text of explanation shows that A is made on the basis of B by adding content to the beginning and end of the latter. There are other, analogous examples of this process: the she liturgy found in S.6114 was formed by reworking the keyi 課邑 (village study association) text from the 'liturgical protocol' attested in P.2767. The she liturgy from P.3122 was formed by reworking the yide 邑德 (Yi Virtue) text in the 'liturgical protocol' from P.4062. These cases show that liturgies were drafted on the basis of liturgical protocols.
On the basis of the sources cited above (and taking into consider-ation other liturgical protocols and liturgies), we can summarise the distinction between the liturgical models in the liturgical protocols and liturgies proper with the following general points: First, the liturgical protocol is a book. Although its main text is divided into many subsections, these subsections are all single parts of a whole. 25 In comparison with the whole text, the subsections are incomplete in their content, and it is only through the reworking, revision, and addition of content that they become stand-alone texts. Only then are they ready to be brought to a zhai gathering and recited. Liturgies, on the other hand, are always stand-alone texts. Although several liturgical text may be brought together to form a compendium, each component text remains independent.
Second, the titles of the subsections in liturgical protocols are generally derived from the main purpose of the zhai, e.g., sheyi 社 邑 (village association), keyi, randeng yuan 燃燈願 (lamp lighting prayers), qiyu 祈雨 (prayers for rain), huangwang 皇王 (for the ruler), etc. 26 The title of a proper liturgical text, however, will generally add the word 'text' (wen 文) after the subject matter of the zhai, e.g., randeng wen 燃燈文 (Text for Lamp Lighting), shezhai wen 社齋文 (Text for Association Zhai), yuanzhai wen 願齋文 (Text for Prayer Zhai), simen zhuanjing wen 四門轉經文 (Text for Cycling through the Scriptures for the Four Gates), ruzhai wen 入宅文 (Text on Entering the Abode), linkuang wen 臨壙文 (Pre-burial Text) and so on. 27 Third, the beginning of a liturgy will always have a quotation, an exaltation of the merits of the Buddha, a description of the nobleman or organization that sponsored the ritual, and the kind of ritual being sponsored. The liturgical models found in a liturgical protocol, however, do not generally have the exaltation of the Buddha's merits at the beginning; rather, the text opens with a description of the social status of the sponsor and the reasons for their sponsorship. Thus, the previously cited she liturgy from P.2058V has five lines of quotation that are absent from the yi association text found in the liturgical protocol on which it is based. There are many such examples; I will not cite them all.
It should be noted that each literary model in the subheading zhaiyi 齋儀 (Liturgical Protocols) is not without quotations, but these quotations are placed at the beginning of the book. As mentioned earlier, 'literary protocol' is a complete whole, and these kinds of quotations, which praise the Buddha's virtues and can be placed at the front of any liturgy, only need to be written once at the beginning of the book.
As we mentioned earlier, the first chapter in P.2940, 'Zhaiwan wen yijuan bing xu', states: It is my humble opinion that solidifying emptiness, the Treasure Images reveal the miraculous forms through conditions; deeply tranquil, the Dharma-body responds to things/stimuli 28 and spreads the various forms. The subtle and the obvious seek them as the bridges, [with] people and heaven relying on them for deliverance. Since the auspicious signs arose from the bodhi-tree, the traces of transformations have become evident and calculable; holding up the chariot [of the Buddha's body] in the city of Wangshe 王舍城 (i.e., Rājagṛha), the rules of divine transformation cannot be measured. Additionally, uttering vows in Luye 鹿野 (Deer Park; Skt. Mṛgadāva), the Seas of Enlightenment billow in the three thousand great chiliocosms; with the light [of the parinirvāṇa] illuminating the Crane Forest (i.e., Śāla Forest), the Wisdom Torch has hidden its brilliance in the Ten Bil-28 Gan 感 or wu 物 seems redundant given that a pair of pianwen 胼文 (parallel text) sentences are involved here: This passage is similar to the quotation from the two liturgical texts we cited earlier, which can be placed before any liturgy as a quotation. The author of 'Zhai wanwen yijuan bing xu' lists this passage at the beginning of the main text, and those who drafted the liturgical text with reference to the 'Zhai wanwen' could look it up themselves. It is not necessary or practical to copy this passage at the beginning of each of the more than eighty chapters of the 'Zhai wanwen yijuan bing xu', which would be too repetitive and too wordy. The liturgical text, on the other hand, is different. It can be read at any time in a zhai gathering, so the cited passages for each chapter must be written, and repeating the cited passages for each chapter did not matter because the zhai gathering where these chapters were used differed.
Fourth, each liturgical model found in the subsections of liturgical protocols contains at least one spot where we find the phrase 'so on and so forth' (yunyun 云云). With the exception of their conclusions, liturgies proper generally do not contain the phrase 'yunyun', as these blank spaces in the underlying liturgical protocol must be filled with the appropriate content. Thus, in the yi association mentioned in the above-quoted liturgical protocol, the fifth line contains the phrase '... loosen the ten fetters and provide [oneself] with the ten powers (so on and so forth)' (解十纏而資十力 [云云]). However, in P.2058V's 'she liturgy', which is based on this protocol, the 'yunyun' after zi shili 資十力 ('with the ten powers') is replaced with '...we take the merit from organizing this zhai and rededicate it as a cause of good fortune, using all of it for [spiritual] adornment' (以此設齋功德, 迴向 福因, 盡用莊嚴). In order to avoid repetition, the liturgy proper has filled in the spot that the liturgical protocol abbreviated. 31 Fifth, as shown by the three cited examples, the last part of the subsections of liturgical protocols generally includes quite vague prayers. The prayers in liturgies proper, however, are concrete and highly detailed, and progress through various stages. Furthermore, such prayers generally contain formulaic phrases like '[May they] all ascend to the fruit that is buddhahood' (齊登佛果), 'Mahāprajñā! Endless blessing and joy!' (摩訶般若, 利樂無邊), and 'The great assembly is pious and entirely universal' (大眾虔誠, 一切普通). 32 It should be pointed out that the differences between the various pieces of liturgical models and liturgical texts in the subheading of 'liturgical protocols' mentioned above only reflects a generic situation. Due to the complexity of the Dunhuang manuscripts, not every liturgical model and liturgical text in the 'liturgical protocol' has all the above points. Therefore, when judging whether a certain document is a 'liturgical protocol' or a liturgical text, the above points should be considered as a whole, rather than placing weight on any single point.
In the Dunhuang manuscripts, the number of liturgical texts is more than that of the 'liturgical protocols'. This is probably because the demand for liturgical texts in society at that time was greater than the demand for 'liturgical protocols', and also because a single liturgical protocol could give birth to several liturgical texts. For example, the main parts of the 'she liturgies' found in liturgical collections such as P.3545, P.3765, S.5573, S.6923 are basically the same, but the introductory passage and ending may be different. These texts are likely to be from a single 'she association' in a liturgical protocol. Since these texts were not completed at the hands of a single monk 31 See the lists in notes 18 and 19. 32 Huang and Wu, ed. and colla., Dunhuang yuanwen ji, 67.
(and the sects and monasteries of these monks could also differ), the contents added on the basis of this 'liturgical protocol' would not be identical. Of course, there is also more than one kind of 'liturgical protocol'. As far as we know, there are seven kinds of literary models of she associations alone preserved in different 'liturgical protocols'. They are preserved separately in the documents of P.2767V, P.4536V, P.3678V, P.3362V, P.2497, and P.2820. Since we have not yet found all the 'liturgical protocols' on which she liturgical texts are based, these seven types listed above are not exhaustive.
Something else worth mentioning is that the 'liturgical protocol' and liturgical texts can be divided into Central Plains texts and Dunhuang local texts. Both 'liturgical protocols' and liturgical texts probably first spread from the Central Plains. For example, P.2940 'Zhaiwan wen yijuan bing xu' originated in the Central Plains. 33 After this kind of document became popular in Dunhuang, there appeared 'liturgical protocols' and liturgical texts with local Dunhuang characteristics. For example, in the she liturgy of P.3122, 'Only the gentlemen of the yi association are the famous family of the flowing sand (the west), heroes of the [Jade] gate' (惟合邑諸公等並是流沙望 族, [玉]塞英猶). Obviously, this is a text that can only be used in the Dunhuang region. These 'liturgical protocols' and texts with local characteristics were rewritten on the basis of the texts brought to the region from the Central Plains. For example, the content on she associations found in the 'liturgical protocols' in P.3362V is exactly the same as the content on she associations found in the 'liturgical protocols' of P.3678V, but with an added passage at the end: 'together they are natives of the land of flowing sand, the worthy outstanding people under the pass' (並是流沙土子, 塞下賢豪). Another example is the 'she liturgy' text in P.3765 and the 'she liturgy' text in S.5573, which developed from the same liturgical protocol. However, the former's description of the identity of the she member is 'a gentleman of a high standing family, a famous master in a hundred counties' (高門 君子, 百郡名家), while in the latter, it was changed to 'a gentleman of a high standing family, who establish himself through virtuous rites under the pass' (高門君子, 塞下賢禮資身). In this way, the 'liturgical protocol' that was used in the whole country is transformed into the 'liturgical protocol', or a text with local characteristics that can only be used in Dunhuang or on the frontiers.
The 'liturgical protocols' or liturgical texts of different periods often leave an imprint of their time. For example, the 'liturgical protocol' in P.3806V contains the words of praying for the 'Btsan po' (zanpu 贊普), implying that this liturgical protocol should have circulated during the period when Tubo administrated Dunhuang. Another example is the 'liturgical protocol' found in P.4012, which contains the words of the prayer for the 'Situ (chancellor), Shangshu' and others. In Dunhuang, the coexistence of the titles situ 司徒 (minister of education) and shangshu 尚書 (Director of the Central Secretariat) only appeared twice during the period of the Zhang family's Guiyi Army (from second half of the 8th century to the 10th century); furthermore, the 'liturgical protocol' text in S.5573 contains the passage 'let the lord of the state live a thousand years, and be prosperous for ten thousand years' (國主千秋, 萬年豐歲). We know that from the Tang to the early Song period, only Zhang Chengfeng 張 承奉 (active 890s-900s) once established the Jinshan 金山 Kingdom of the Western Han Dynasty in Dunhuang (905-914). Furthermore, the she association text in P.3276V for stamping Buddhas on the sand contains the words of prayer to Linggong 令公, whereas someone called Linggong only existed during the period of the Cao family's Guiyi Army (tenth-eleventh century). These 'liturgical protocols' and texts that left an imprint of their time contain not only the local characteristics of Dunhuang, but also provide clues for us to determine the period of dissemination of these manuscripts.
The above-mentioned liturgical protocol and liturgical texts with regional characteristics generally appeared after the middle of the Tang period. Before the middle of the Tang period, the most widely distributed texts in Dunhuang were the 'liturgical protocols' and liturgical texts of the Central Plains. Texts of liturgical protocols and liturgy with regional and temporal characteristics appeared from the time that Tubo administrated Dunhuang. Later, during the period of the Zhang and Cao families Guiyi Army, there were 'liturgical pro-tocols' and liturgical texts with the characteristics of their own times, which has been confirmed by the above cited materials.

Concluding Remarks
The liturgies and their literary models in the Dunhuang cache can be divided into two categories based on their characteristics: zhaiyi 齋儀 (liturgical protocols) and zhaiwen wenben 齋文文本 (liturgical texts). 'Liturgical protocol' is of the same nature as protocols (shuyi 書儀), and it is a kind of reference document used for drafting liturgies; the 'liturgical text' is a document read by monks at various religious gatherings. It is not only a document with functional use, but also preserves some of the characteristics of a 'liturgical protocol'. In order to avoid the confusion of disorganised naming, which can affect readers' understanding of the nature of these documents, we should uniformly refer to the various names of the liturgy literary models as 'liturgical protocols' in future catalogues of Dunhuang cache materials. Of course, this project should also be carried out on the basis of specific investigations of each document. The liturgical models that have been preserved completely or still have the outline of the whole book should be called 'liturgical protocol'; those that are incomplete at the beginning and end and only preserve a chapter or several chapters of the main text should also be called an incomplete 'liturgical protocol'. If an incomplete 'liturgical protocol' preserves many chapters (over ten articles), the names of the preserved chapters can be mentioned under these 'liturgical protocols' or incomplete 'liturgical protocols'. As for the liturgical texts, if the number of preserved chapters is more than a few, they can be collectively called a 'Collection of Liturgical Texts' (zhaiwen wenben ji) to replace the many other names pertaining to it in the existing catalogues. However, a catalogue should be made under the name 'Collection of Liturgical Texts' (zhaiwen wenben ji), listing the names of each chapter, such as 1. liturgy for the diseased (wang zhaiwen 亡齋文), 2. Linkuang Text, and more; if there are only one or two chapters, the catalogue can be established based on the names of these chapters, and one can indicate that this is a liturgical text (文本) in the parentheses.