Dr. Laurent Van Cutsem

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Languages and Cultures at Ghent University, and a member of the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies. I hold a Ph.D. in Oriental Languages and Cultures (Sinology) from Ghent University (2023), and have held long-term Visiting Researcher positions at both Zhejiang University and the University of Tokyo.

My research centers on Chan/Zen 禪 Buddhist literature during the Tang–Song transition period (ca. 750–1050). In particular, I examine the formation of Chan historiography, from the Baolin zhuan 寶林傳 (Chronicle of the Baolin [Monastery], ca. 801) to the Jingde chuandeng lu 景德傳燈錄 (Record of the Transmission of the Lamp from the Jingde Era, ca. 1004/1009). My doctoral dissertation focused on the textual history, genealogical framework, and intertextuality of the Zutang ji 祖堂集 (Collection of the Hall of Patriarchs). More recently, I have turned to the 14th-century Japanese Keitoku dentō shōroku 景德傳燈鈔錄 (Record of Annotated Excerpts from the Jingde chuandeng [lu]) and its use of quotations from the Baolin zhuan. For further details, please refer to the "Projects" section. 

My work is grounded in traditional philology and codicology, while also engaging with Digital Humanities methodologies. These include the production of TEI-compliant digital editions of premodern Chinese texts (e.g., the Dunhuang 敦煌 manuscript Or.8210/S.1635), Historical Social Network Analysis, and contributions to the Database of Medieval Chinese Texts (DMCT).

My research interests include pre-modern Chan/Zen literature, Chinese Buddhism from the late Tang to the early Northern Song, Dunhuang manuscripts, pre-modern Chinese manuscript and print culture, Chinese writing (e.g., variant characters), and Digital Humanities methodologies for East Asian studies (e.g., TEI scholarly digital editions of pre-modern Chinese sources, Historical Social Network Analysis).

Below are some of my current research projects:

1. Postdoctoral/Monograph Project: “Carving the Patriarchs: Chan Historiography in Tang-Song Transition China.”

2. Research Articles:

   • Chan/Zen and the Art of Quoting: A Study of the Fragments of the Baolin zhuan 寶林傳 Contained in the Keitoku dentō shōroku 景德傳燈鈔錄.

   • Chan Historiography in Fragments: The Shengzhou ji 聖冑集 and the Dunhuang 敦煌 Manuscript Or.8210/S.4478.

   • Did the Indian Patriarchs Matter? A Diachronic Study of Chan Hagiographies for Ānanda from the Late Tang to the Early Northern Song.

   • A Palaeographic Study of the Silla 新羅 Monks’ Hagiographies in the Zutang ji 祖堂集 (K. 1503).

   • Revisiting the Textual History of the Zutang ji 祖堂集.

3. Second Monograph Project: "Xuefeng Yicun's 雪峰義存 (822–908) Legacy: Chan Circles in the Min 閩 (909–945) and Southern Tang 南唐 (937–976) Kingdoms."

4. Digital Humanities Projects:

   • Short-Term Projects:

     1. TEI-compliant edition of the Dunhuang 敦煌 manuscript Or.8210/S.4478, a fragment of the Shengzhou ji 聖冑集.

     2. TEI edition of the Niutou School 牛頭宗 section of the 1245 Goryeo woodblock edition of the Zutang ji 祖堂集 (K.1503).

     3. GIS-based study of the Zutang ji 祖堂集 related to the text’s geographical coverage from the early Tang 唐 (618-907) to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms 五代十國 (907-960/979) period.

   • Long-Term Projects:

     1. TEI edition, with parallel translation, of the Dunhuang version of the Liuzu tanjing 六祖壇經 (Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch), taking Or.8210/S.5475 as the base text.

     2. TEI edition of the extant booklets of the Keitoku dentō shōroku 景德傳燈鈔錄.