Researcher

Laurent Van Cutsem

Research disciplines
  • Humanities
    • Asian history
    • Chinese language
    • Discourse analysis
    • Writing systems
    • Literatures in Chinese
    • Stylistics and textual analysis
    • Study of Buddhism
Expertise
Buddhism Chinese Buddhism Chan Buddhism
Other academic online profiles
Bio
I am a Special Research Fund (BOF) Postdoctoral Fellow (“Doctor-Assistant”) at the Department of Languages and Cultures (Sinology) of Ghent University in Belgium and a member of the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies. I received my Master of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of Louvain (2015, Summa cum laude) and my Ph.D. in Oriental Languages and Cultures (Sinology) from Ghent Univ. (2023), with a dissertation titled "The Zutang ji 祖堂集: Aspects of Textual History, Genealogy, and Intertextuality." My monograph project explores the development of Chan hagiographic literature in Tang-Song (ca. 750–1050) transition China—that is, from the Baolin zhuan 寶林傳 (Chronicle of the Baolin [Monastery]; ca. 795–96/801) to the Jingde chuandenglu 景德傳燈錄 (Jingde-Era Record of the Transmission of the Lamp; originally compiled ca. 1004). As a contributor to the Database of Medieval Chinese Texts (DMCT), I am responsible for the collection and input of variant characters (yitizi 異體字) and the production of XML-based TEI editions of sections of the Zutang ji and related Dunhuang 敦煌 manuscripts (e.g., Quanzhou Qianfo xinzhu zhuzushi song 泉州千佛新著諸祖師頌, Or.8210/S.1635; Shengzhou ji 聖胄集, Or.8210/S.4478). My research interests include pre-modern Chan/Zen literature, Dunhuang manuscripts, pre-modern Chinese manuscript and print culture, medieval Chinese linguistics, TEI scholarly digital editions of pre-modern Chinese texts, and Historical Social Network Analysis. My current research projects include: 1. Postdoctoral/Monograph Project: “Carving the Patriarchs: Chan Hagiographies in Tang-Song Transition (ca. 750–1050) China.” 2. Research Articles: - Chan/Zen and the Art of Quoting: A Comparative Philological Analysis of the Fragments of the Baolin zhuan 寶林傳 Quoted in the Keitoku dentō shōroku 景德傳燈鈔錄 against the Jinzang 金藏 Edition. - Did the Indian Patriarchs Matter?: A Study of Chan Hagiographies of Ānanda 阿難 from the Late Tang to the Five Dynasties Period. 3. Zutang ji 祖堂集 Related Projects: - Palaeographic study of the Silla 新羅 monks’ entries in the Zutang ji 祖堂集 (K.1503). - The Legacy of Xuefeng Yicun 雪峰義存 (822–908): Chan Circles in the Min 閩 (909–945) and Southern Tang 南唐 (937–976) Kingdoms. 4. Digital Humanities Projects: - Catalogue of Chan-related Dunhuang 敦煌 manuscripts in the Stein collection of the British Library, with an emphasis on codicological features. - TEI-Based Editions: Or.8210/S.4478 (Shengzhou ji 聖胄集), Or.8210/S.5475 (Liuzu tanjing 六祖壇經), Keitoku dentō shōroku 景德傳燈鈔錄.