Hongmingji 弘明集

Hongmingji 弘明集 "Propagating the Manifestation [of the Dharma]" is a collection of Buddhist treatises compiled by Sengyou 僧祐 (445-518) during the Liang period 梁 (502-557). It comprises fourteen juan.

The book catalogue Chu sanzang jiji 出三藏記集 and xxx preserves information on the work's original state. It consisted of ten volumes, beginning with the text Lihuolun 理惑論 by Mouzi 牟子 and ending with Sengyou's own essay Hongminglun 弘明論. This version was later expanded to the present fourteen-volume edition. The collection compiles 184 individual writings from the Later Han 後漢 (25-220 CE) through the Liang period that praise or defend Buddhism. It also preserves several non- or anti-Buddhist works, such as Shenmielun 神滅論 by Fan Zhen 范縝 (c. 450-c. 515). Most texts are in the form of essays, letters, memorials, petitions, and discourses. The collection includes works by 123 authors, the vast majority of whom were officials and literati—only 18 authors were monks.

At the end of the book is Sengyou's own Hongminglun, also called the "Postface to the Hongmingji". In this text, Sengyou categorises contemporary anti-Buddhist arguments into "six doubts" (liuyi 六疑) and refutes them individually.

The included writings are all by notable figures from before the Liang period, with a strong focus on polemical essays. Many of these works would otherwise have been lost and survive only because they were preserved in this collection. The topics discussed encompass major social and philosophical issues of the time, such as debates between Buddhism and Daoism, disputes over Chinese versus non-Chinese (clerics), and discussions on the relationship between body and spirit and Buddhist rituals. Additionally, it contains discussions on the connection between Buddhism and political governance, as well as explanations of Buddhist concepts, categories, and terminology. This work is an important source for studying the history of Chinese Buddhism and intellectual history. It is included in successive editions of the Buddhist canon.