CHINESE “BIAN WEN” WORKS AND VIETNAMESE “YEN TU ZEN MASTER BOOKS” – SOME COMPARISONS AND GENRE IDENTIFICATION

Abstract

Chinese scholars commonly consider “bianwen” (變文 bianwen) to be a literary genre understood to refer to the part of language recorded in writing to serve a Buddhist religious activity that appeared in the Tang Dynasty. In Vietnam there is a six-eight verse storycalled "kể hạnh".  The work “Yen Tu Thien Tong Ban Hanh” by Zen master Chan Nguyen is still circulating. The work is considered as the lyrics of a type of temple ritual performance. This article makes some comparisons and identifies the genres of two literary cultural products “bianwen” of China and “ke hanh” of Vietnam (the case of “Yen Tu Thien Tong Ban Hanh” by Chan Nguyen). Both originate from the need to popularize Buddhism among the masses through the forms of storytelling and performance. However, “bien van” is characterized by an alternating prose-verse structure, the vernacular Han Chinese language, a broad thematic scope (including Buddhist stories, history, and folklore), and often incorporates illustrative paintings (bianxiang) during performance. Conversely, “ke hanh” predominantly employs the luc bat verse form in Nom script, concentrates more on the virtuous deeds (hanh) of figures and the history of Vietnamese Buddhist lineages, and is linked to specific ritual performance forms such as “cheo do ke hanh” The case of “Yen Tu Thien Tong Ban Hanh” is a clear illustration of the use of “ke hanh” to narrate and venerate the history of a specific Zen lineage.