The <i>Precious Scroll of the Blood Pond</i> in the “Telling Scriptures” Tradition in Changshu, Jiangsu, China

Abstract

The Precious Scroll of the Blood Pond is a newly discovered manuscript (copied ca. 1993), used in the “telling scriptures” tradition in Changshu, which represents ritualized storytelling based on the vernacular narrative texts called “precious scrolls” (baojuan). The local tradition of “telling scriptures” can be traced back to the 19th century, though it may have even earlier origins. While it has been generally accepted that precious scrolls had ritual functions in the late imperial period, little research has been done on the local varieties of this type of storytelling in connection with ritual practices. The material of the Precious Scroll of the Blood Pond from Changshu demonstrates how the Mulian story, widely known in China, has been adapted to the folk ritual of the afterlife salvation of a female soul through repentance of her sin of physiological impurity. While the related ritual in the neighboring Jingjiang on the northern bank of the Yangtze River has been thoroughly studied, the Changshu practice has received little attention of scholars so far. The Precious Scroll of the Blood Pond from Changshu demonstrates that the Mulian narrative was also associated with the ritual of “breaking the Blood Pond” in the Jiangnan areas, which also provides a new angle of evaluation of the Jingjiang tradition of “telling scriptures”. This article discusses relations between modern ritual practices and several variants of the Precious Scroll of the Blood Pond, mainly using fieldwork materials collected by the author in Changshu and adjacent areas in 2011–2018.

Keywords

• <i>baojuan</i> (precious scrolls)
• telling scriptures
• scroll recitation
• chinese folklore
• popular religion
• buddhist narrative