Su-jiang (English: Zokukou)

Japanese: 俗講 - ぞくこう（英語表記）Su-jiang

A Chinese Buddhist ritual. It refers to lecturing on Buddhist scriptures to the common people. The term first appeared during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty (627-649), but its content can be traced back to the Daoan period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. When lecturing on Buddhist scriptures to the common people, it was necessary to make it easy to understand and to keep them entertained. This was fine as long as the audience was intellectuals such as the emperor, aristocrats, and scholar-officials, but when speaking to the general public, it became necessary to explain the scriptures with pictures and chant them in a rhythmic manner, and it gradually became more vulgar. During the Song Dynasty, zoko also came to mean "lectures for the common people," and the prototype of the later lecturer was born among the sutra-setters.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

中国の仏教儀礼。俗人に対する仏典講釈のこと。この語の初出は唐の貞観年間 (627～649) であるが，その内容は東晋の道安の頃までさかのぼることができる。仏典を俗人に講釈する場合には，わかりやすくし，かつ飽きさせないための工夫が必要であった。皇帝，貴族や士大夫という知識人を聴衆としている間はよかったが，一般民衆を相手とする場合には絵解きや節をつけての読経も必要となり，次第に卑俗に流れていった。宋の頃になると，俗講は「卑俗の講釈」の意味にもなり，説経僧の間から，後世の講釈師の原型が生れることになった。

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