Rostislav Berezkin

This project includes detailed analysis, English translation, and publication of the earliest available recension of the Chinese text of Precious Scroll of Incense Mountain (Xiangshan baojuan), the unique woodblock that survived in Vietnam, as well as the study of its impact on Vietnamese literature, especially the folk oral tradition. This text deals with the Buddhist story of Princess Miaoshan, retold in vernacular language, and has particular significance for the female audiences in China and Vietnam. Numerous Vietnamese versions of this story exist, and our purpose is to demonstrate the adaptation and domestication of this story in Vietnam, as well as its significance in the context of the cults of female deities in the countries of Eastern Asia.