Liang dynasty to Sui dynasty (6th–7th century) Traditional records state that the
Shuilu Fahui ceremony originated during the reign of
Emperor Wu of Liang (464–549), who was historically renowned as a devout patron of Buddhism. According to accounts, Emperor Wu had a dream one night in which a holy monk told him about a ritual called the
Shuilu Guangda Mingzhai (水陸廣大冥齋, lit: "Grand and Expansive Netherworldly Ceremony for beings of Water and Land") which had the ability to deliver universal salvation to sentient beings in samsara. The next day, he consulted with ministers and
śramaṇas at court about his dream, but no one had an explanation except for the
Chan Buddhist master Baozhi (寶志; 418 - 514), who told him to search through the Buddhist canon. According to these sūtras,
Ānanda once encountered a ghost king named either
Mianran (面燃;
lit: "Burning Face") or
Yankou (燄口; lit: "Flaming Mouth") that warned him about his impending death and rebirth in the realm of hungry ghosts which would happen unless he was able to give one measure of food and drink the size of a bushel used in
Magadha to each of the one hundred thousand
nayutas of hungry ghosts and other beings. After retrieving them, Daoying oversaw the revival of the ceremony and conducted its first performance at Shanbei Temple. He also wrote of another stele near
Huzhou that was made in the year 863 that he labelled "Records of the Re-establishment of the Society for the Ceremony of the Netherworld and the Living World at Xingguo Temple" (重置興國寺冥陽齋社記). Another Tang-era stele called the "Record of the Water and Land Assembly of the Eastern Nengren Temple" (東能仁院水陸會記) located in
Wuhu is mentioned in another book, the
Yudi Beiji Mu (輿地碑記目, lit: "Compendium of Geographic Inscriptions"), by the author Wang Xiangzhi (王象之). Historical records also document the development of
shuilu ritual paintings during this time.
Shuilu ritual paintings are a special style of traditional
Chinese paintings based on
Buddhist divinities and all other figures in
Buddhist cosmology that are invoked into the ritual space during the
Shuilu Fahui ceremony. These paintings are typically enshrined and arranged at various altars during the ceremony in special formations according to the ritual manual, sometimes forming a particular
maṇḍala (such as is the case with the altar for the
Ten Wisdom Kings). While the majority of these paintings usually depict Buddhist deities, a number of them also depicts non-Buddhist figures such as Taoist gods as well as the spirits of past emperors, officials and commoners since they are also invoked during the ceremony, being counted among the unenlightened sentient beings of
saṃsāra that are invited to the ceremony to partake in the nourishment. In the
Yizhou minghua lu (益州名畫錄, lit: "Record of Famous Artists from
Yizhou") by the Song dynasty writer Huang Xiufu (黃休復), he records the biography of a Tang dynasty painter named Zhang Nanben (張南本), who was active in Chengdu in Sichuan from 880s onwards and who specialized in paintings of Buddhist figures, dragon kings, gods and ghosts. The biography states that, upon
Emperor Xizong's return to the
Tang capital of
Chang'an following the end of the
Huang Chao Rebellion, the prefectural magistrate Chen (府主陳太師) established a Water and Land Cloister (水陸院) at Baoli Temple (寶歷寺) and hired Nanben to paint over 120 paintings of the spirits of Heaven and Earth (天神地祗), the
Three Officials and
Five Emperors (三官五帝),
Leigong and
Dianmu (雷公電母), the spirits of mountains and marshes (嶽瀆神仙) and well as past emperors and kings (自古帝王).
Song dynasty (10th–13th century) After the Tang dynasty,
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies continued to grow in popularity and were widely practiced in the succeeding
Song dynasty (960–1279) by monastics, and historical records proliferated with numerous accounts of such ceremonies.
Imperial Patronage ] in
Wuxi, which was the site of one of the
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies held by the Song imperial family after the death of
Empress Gao (1032–1093). In particular, it was relatively common for the imperial family and government to commission performances of the ritual, especially in times of conflict or upon the death of a political figure. Various Song-era historical documents such as the
Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian (續資治通鑑長編), an extensive chronicle of the history of the
Northern Song dynasty in 980 volumes by the historian
Li Tao (李燾), and voluminous court records as well as miscellaneous writings by officials like
Wang Anshi (王安石, 1021–1086) and Qi Chongli (綦崇禮, 1083–1142), make numerous mentions of multiple performances of the
Shuilu Fahui ceremony being commissioned by the imperial families of both the Song dynasty and its contemporaneous rival
Jin dynasty (1115–1234). The following are a few examples. Both the Song
Emperor Yingzong (1032 -1067) and the Song
Empress Cao (1016–1079) were commemorated with performances of the
Shuilu Fahui ceremony upon their deaths. In 1081, the Song
Emperor Shenzong sponsored a
Shuilu Fahui ceremony at a temple in
Guizhou (桂州) for the spirits of fallen soldiers and civilians from
Yongzhou,
Qinzhou and
Lianzhou who had perished during the
Song–Đại Việt war. In 1083,
Emperor Shenzong commissioned another
Shuilu Fahui ceremony at a temple in
Mingzhou (明州, modern-day
Ningbo) that was held on the eve of a one-month mourning ceremony in commemoration of the death of
King Munjong (1046–1083) of
Goryeo. In 1085, three
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies (one taking place on the
Dongzhi Festival, one taking place on
Chinese New Year and one taking place on the
Hanshi Festival) were commissioned and held in the Funing Palace (福寧殿) to commemorate the death of
Emperor Shenzong. The famous poet
Su Shi (蘇軾,1037-1101), also widely known as Su Dongpo (蘇東坡), wrote three separate poems, one for each occasion. For the performance during the
Dongzhi Festival, he wrote:For the performance during the
Chinese New Year, he wrote:For the performance during the
Hanshi Festival, he wrote:In 1093, at least 3
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies were held for the Song
Empress Gao (1032–1093) after her death at her residence, Chongqing Palace (崇慶宮) and at Fusheng Chan Cloister (福聖禪院, modern-day Nanchan Temple
[zh] (南禪寺) in
Wuxi). In 1131 and 1132, the Song
Emperor Gaozong (1107–1187) commissioned three
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies to commemorate the death of
Empress Dowager Meng (1073–1131), and the poet Qi Chongli (綦崇礼) composed poetic prayer verses for a few of the occasions. The Empress Dowager had earlier been made reagent of a short-lived
puppet state by the
Jin empire when they invaded the Song capital of
Kaifeng, but had shown loyalty to
Emperor Gaozong by ending her regency and declaring him the rightful Emperor after he returned to the city in 1127. In 1134,
Emperor Gaozong sponsored another
Shuilu Fahui ceremony to provide relief to the spirits of fallen soldiers after the general
Han Shizhong defeated a joint-invasion by forces from the Jin empire and its puppet state Pseudo-Qi at Chengzhou (承州, modern-day
Gaoyou in
Jiangsu). After the Jin
Emperor Taizong (1075–1135) ascended the throne in 1123, he invited a sandalwood statue to Minzhong Temple (憫忠寺, modern-day
Fayuan Temple) in
Beijing and held a
Shuilu Fahui ceremony for over seven days and nights.
Private patronage (1037–1101), also known as Su Dongpo, at his grave in
Pingdingshan. He wrote multiple poems regarding the
Shuilu Fahui ceremony and even sponsored one himself. Outside the imperial families,
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies were also widely commissioned and sponsored by private individuals including nobles, government officials and civilians. For instance, various Song era inscriptions on niches and statues at the
Dazu Rock Carvings make references to multiple performances of
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies, with the site itself possibly functioning as a ritual space. The government official Li Guang (李光, 1078–1159) wrote about sponsoring a performance of the ceremony at Bao'en Chan Temple (報恩禪寺) for some goats that he had raised as pets after they had been offered to him as gifts. Another example is the famous poet
Su Shi (蘇軾,1037-1101) who was known for having sponsored a
Shuilu Fahui ceremony and who even wrote a set of sixteen poems praising the sixteen classes of beings summoned during the ceremony titled
Shuilu faxing zan (水陸法像贊, "Praises for the Dharma Images of Water and Land"). Su Shi's brother, Su Che (蘇轍, 1039–1112), also performed a
Shuilu Fahui ceremony after a well beside a tomb ran dry.
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies were also often commissioned by officials to mark the construction of structures such as dikes and bridges, as well as for summoning rain and controlling winds.
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies became so popular that they even featured heavily in vernacular literary fiction of the time, such as the
Yijian zhi (夷堅志) where performances of the ritual featured in multiple stories. Biographies of Song era monastics also indicated that some monks became known for conducting the ceremony. In the
Song gaoseng zhuan (宋高僧傳, lit: "Biographies of Eminent Monks of the Song dynasty") by the scholar monk Zanning
[zh] (贊寧, 919–1001), he records two monks who were noted for conducting
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies. The first was the monk Zunhai (遵誨, 865–945), a monk who specialized in the
Lotus Sūtra and the
Avataṃsaka Sūtra, who was noted as having "repeatedly performed Water and Land rituals to offer Dharma-food to spirits and ghosts, encouraging all on the dignified practice of bodhicitta". The second was the monk Shouzhen (守真, 894–971), a monk from
Sichuan who was known for practicing
Zhenyan,
Pure Land and
Huayan Buddhism and whom some consider the Eighth Patriarch of the Huayan Buddhist tradition. He was described as having "opened the Water and Land ritual space twenty times" in his lifetime. While much of the ritual manual has been lost, three fascicles survive, namely the
Chu ru daochang xu jian shuilu yi (初入道場敘建水陸意, lit: "Upon First Entering the Ritual Space to Explain the Meaning of Establishing the Water and Land Altars"), the
Xuanbai zhaoqing shangtang bawei shengzhong (宣白召請上堂八位聖眾, lit: "Announcement to Invite the Noble Multitudes to the Eight Seats of the Upper Hall") and the
Xuanbai zhaoqing xiatang bawei shengfan (宣白召請下堂八位聖凡, lit: "Announcement to Invite the Divine and the Mundane to the Eight Seats of the Lower Hall"). While much of this text is not extant, it was widely circulated during the
Jin (1115–1234) and
Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties and formed the basis for another later
Shuilu Fahui ritual text during the
Ming dynasty (1368–1644) called the
Tiandi mingyang shuilu yiwen (天地冥陽水陸儀文, lit: "Manual for the Ritual of All Beings of Heaven and Earth, This World and the Netherworld, and Water and Land"). In the late-Song period, another version of the ritual manual for the
Shuilu Fahui ceremony, which was to become especially influential later, was compiled by the Tiantai monk Zhipan (志磐, 1220–1275), the author of the
Fozu tongji (佛祖統紀, lit: "Chronicle of the Buddhas and Patriarchs"), a massive encyclopedic historiographical text in 54 volumes detailing the history of Buddhism in China from a
Tiantai perspective. According to his account, a Song politician named Shi Hao (史浩, 1106–1194) once visited the island of
Jinshan (where
Emperor Wu of Liang participated in the first ever performance of the
Shuilu Fahui ceremony according to traditional accounts) and admired the
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies being carried out there. Shi Hao then donated a hundred
mu of land on Mount Yuebo (月波山) and established a "Four-season Water and Land Altar"(四時水陸) there.
Yuan dynasty to Ming dynasty (13th century-17th century) Under the Yuan dynasty Shuilu Fahui ceremonies continued to remain popular under the succeeding
Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), being commissioned on multiple occasions by various Emperors, who were fond of conducting Buddhist rituals. In 1321, the Yuan
Emperor Yingzong (1302–1323) commissioned over six temples: Wan'an Temple (萬安 Qingshou Temple(慶壽) Sheng'an Temple(聖安) Puqing Temple (普慶寺) in
Beijing,
Jinshan Temple in
Zhenjiang and Wansheng Youguo Temple (萬聖祐國寺, modern-day Nanshan Temple
[zh]) to carry out a large-scale Shuilu Fahui ceremony which lasted over seven days and seven nights. In 1328, The Yuan
Emperor Taiding (1293–1328) commissioned another Shuilu Fahui ceremony which lasted seven days and nights as well.
Under the Ming dynasty During the succeeding
Ming dynasty (1368–1644),
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies became even more popular with both the imperial court and private citizenry. For instance, starting from the first year (1368) of the reign of the Ming
Hongwu Emperor (1328–1398) until the fifth year (1407) of the reign of the Ming
Yongle Emperor (1360–1424), the Ming imperial court consecutively held several large scale
Shuilu Fahui ceremonies at
Jiangshan, historically known as the
Jiangshan Fahui (蔣山法會, lit: "Dharma Assembly at Jiangshan"), with invitations being sent to nearly every prominent monk from the late Yuan to early Ming period. The main purpose of performing these ceremonies was to provide salvation to the spirits of both soldiers and civilians who had perished during wartime, thereby promoting political stability and peace. Choosing the Song dynasty manual edited by Zhipan (the
Shuilu yigui) as the foundation, Zhuhong revised and refined the liturgy, placing particular focus on stressing ritual order and etiquette. His edition, titled the
Fajie shengfan shuilu shenghui xiuzhai yigui (法界聖凡水陸勝會修齋儀軌, lit: "Ritual Manual for Practicing the Ritual of the Water and Land Grand Assembly for Saints and Ordinary Sentient Beings in the
Dharma Realm"), belongs to a category of variant
Shuilu Fahui ritual manuals called the "
Nan shuilu" (南水陸, lit: "Southern
Shuilu"), which includes Zhipan's version of the ritual manual. Zhuhong's version of the liturgy was also widely used throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties and forms the core text of the most popular version of the
Shuilu Fahui liturgy in contemporary times.
Qing dynasty to present (17th–21st century) The ceremony remained an integral part of the Chinese Buddhist ritual field under the succeeding
Qing dynasty (1644–1912), with both the
Bei shuilu and
Nan shuilu variants of the ceremony continuing to be performed. During the reign of the Qing
Daoguang Emperor (1782–1850), the monk Yirun (儀潤) from Zhenji Temple (真寂寺) in Hangzhou edited and expanded Zhuhong's version of the ritual manual by supplementing explanations on certain details as well as adding more content regarding the ritual's practice and rules, resulting in a six-volume work titled the
Fajie shengfan shuilu shenghui xiuzhai yigui (法界聖凡水陸普度大齋勝會儀軌會本, lit: "Compiled Ritual Manual for Practicing the Ritual of the Water and Land Grand Assembly for Saints and Ordinary Sentient Beings in the
Dharma Realm"). Later, the
upāsaka Zhiguan (咫觀, active circa 1862–1908), also known as Zheng Yingfang (鄭應房), composed extensive commentaries regarding Zhuhong's version of the ritual manual, compiling them into a nine-volume work titled the
Fajie shengfan Shuilu dazhai puli daochang xingxiang tonglun (法界聖凡水陸大齋普利道場性相通論, lit: "Comprehensive Treatise on the Nature and Characteristics of the Dharma Realm of Saints and Mortals in the Water-Land Great Retreat and Universal Beneficence Assembly"). He also wrote another text based on the
Shuilu Fahui ceremony titled the
Shuilu daochang falun baochan (水陸道場法輪寶懺 ,lit: "Precious Repentance of the Dharma Wheel for the Water-Land Assembly") which had ten volumes. In the late-Qing dynasty, just before the founding of the
Republic of China, the monk Fayu (法裕) also edited Zhuhong's version of the ritual, providing additional instructional details regarding the rituals to be performed at the Outer Altars as well as other ceremonial practices. In addition, a new preface for this version was written by the eminent monk
Yinguang (1862–1940), who is the Thirteenth Patriarch of the
Chinese Pure Land tradition. This four-volume version of the ritual manual, titled the
Shuilu yigui huiben (水陸儀軌會本, lit: "Compiled Ritual Manual of Water and Land"), remains the most widely utilized version in modern contemporary Chinese Buddhist practice throughout
China,
Taiwan,
Singapore,
Malaysia and other
overseas Chinese communities. ==Altars==