batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l15361-l15404
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l15361-l15404
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: ESSAYS ON THE SACRED LANGUAGE, WRITINGS, AND RELIGION OF THE PARSIS. / BY
MARTIN HAUG, PH.D., / EDITED BY DR. E. W. WEST. / TEXTS FROM THE BUDDHIST CANON;
lines 15361-15404
start: '15361'
end: '15404'
translation: Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage is a publication notice for S. Beal's English translation from
Chinese of a work commonly known as the Dhammapada. It states that Beal found
a Chinese Buddhist Canon work titled “Law Verses, or Scriptural Texts,” resembling
the Pali Dhammapada; that a Pali recension reached China in the third century
A.D.; and that the Chinese recension has thirty-nine sections rather than the
twenty-six of the known Pali edition. Review excerpts describe the translation
as useful for comparative religious history and as presenting Buddhist doctrine,
creed, and conduct.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage identifies the advertised work as “Texts from the Buddhist Canon,”
commonly known as “Dhammapada,” with accompanying narratives.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: S. Beal is named as the translator from Chinese.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A Chinese Buddhist Canon was presented by the Japanese Government to the Library
of the India Office.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Mr. Beal discovered in that canon a work titled “Law Verses, or Scriptural
Texts.”
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The discovered work is said to resemble the Pali version of the Dhammapada
in many particulars.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The passage states that the original recension of the Pali text reached China
in the third century A.D., where translation was finished and thirteen sections
were later added.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Pali Dhammapada is described as having twenty-six chapters or sections,
while the Chinese recension translated by Beal has thirty-nine sections.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: A review excerpt says Beal made the work accessible in English and contributed
to the comparative study of religious history.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: A review excerpt describes the work as exhibiting Buddhist doctrine, creed,
and rule of conduct, and states that many later followers worship the founder
as a god although the founder denied a God.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: S. Beal
description: Named translator from Chinese and discoverer of the Chinese Canon work
described in the notice.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Japanese Government
description: Presented the Chinese Buddhist Canon to the Library of the India Office.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Library of the India Office
description: Institution that received the Chinese Buddhist Canon.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Fausböll, Max Müller, and Albrecht Weber
description: Named in connection with known editions or translations of the Pali
Dhammapada.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Unnamed founder of the religion
description: The review excerpt describes the founder as having denied a God and
as later being worshipped as a god by followers.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: translator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage states that the work was translated from Chinese by S. Beal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: discoverer of a canonical text
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage says Mr. Beal discovered a work in the Chinese Buddhist Canon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: presenter of the canon
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Japanese Government is said to have presented the canon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: recipient institution
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The canon was presented to the Library of the India Office.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: prior editors or translators of the Pali Dhammapada
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage names Fausböll, Max Müller, and Albrecht Weber in relation to
editions or translations of the Pali text.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: religious founder later worshipped as divine
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The review excerpt states that the founder denied a God but is now worshipped
as a god by followers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Publication notice for Beal's Dhammapada translation
summary: The passage introduces Beal's English translation from Chinese of a Buddhist
canonical work known as Dhammapada and explains its relation to the Pali version.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Review framing of Buddhist doctrine and comparative value
summary: Quoted reviews describe the translation as useful for comparative religious
history and as presenting Buddhist doctrine, creed, and rule of conduct.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Wisdom teaching in scriptural verses
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage presents the Dhammapada as “Law Verses, or Scriptural Texts”
and a review describes it as expressing Buddhist doctrine, creed, and rule of
conduct.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: low
cautions: The passage is a bibliographic notice rather than a mythic or narrative
episode; the motif candidate is thematic and should be reviewed.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares the Chinese canonical work with the Pali
Dhammapada, saying it resembles the Pali version in many particulars and differs
in section count.
claim_level: linguistic_similarity
target: Chinese recension of the Dhammapada compared with the Pali Dhammapada
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage gives a general textual comparison but does not provide
parallel verses, detailed philology, or motif-level comparison.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 15361-15367
quote_or_summary: The notice titles the work “Texts from the Buddhist Canon,” commonly
known as “Dhammapada,” with accompanying narratives, translated from Chinese by
S. Beal.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 15368-15374
quote_or_summary: The Chinese Buddhist Canon was presented by the Japanese Government
to the Library of the India Office; Beal discovered in it a work titled “Law Verses,
or Scriptural Texts,” resembling the Pali Dhammapada in many particulars.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized with short title quote.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 15374-15386
quote_or_summary: The notice says the Pali recension reached China in the third
century A.D.; translation was completed there and thirteen sections were added.
The Pali text has twenty-six sections, while Beal's Chinese recension has thirty-nine.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 15387-15391
quote_or_summary: An Academy review says Beal made the work accessible in English
and aided the comparative study of religious history.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 15392-15402
quote_or_summary: A Scotsman review says the work displays Buddhist doctrine in
a pure form, presents a simple creed and conduct rule, and contrasts the founder's
denial of a God with later worship of the founder as a god.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: low
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is primarily a bibliographic advertisement and review notice,
not a mythic narrative. Literal extraction is straightforward; motif relevance
is limited.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No available symbol taxonomy items are directly present in the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l15361-l15404
passage_sha256=e6830cde24aa518f47bc7a5ffc68c367f3f1db038fca895be86acb3f80f35620