本文旨在探討《起信論》之傳承說，而非其傳承自身。傳承之研究，在於揭示傳承之歷史真相，而傳承說之研究，則在於考察信仰者對於傳承之認知，非關歷史真相也。不過，對傳承之認知，在信仰者眼中，即是歷史真相，故此認知有延續、集結與優化之必然，並能漸而形成體系，構成所謂之傳承說。《起信》傳承之研究，在上世紀中日學界關於其真偽之大討論中已臻極致，而其傳承說之研究卻從未有人涉及。然則此說之基本結構為何？這一結構承載何等之基本內容？這些內容又如何產生、演變與發展？種種圍繞《起信論》傳承認知之問題，在《起信》研究中，尚屬空白。本文之作，即試圖回答這些問題，以期填補這一空白。文章將從《起信論》之創作、翻譯及解釋三個方面著手，依據《起信論》之古今注疏、僧傳、經錄等各種原始資料，來試圖勾勒出《起信》傳統在其發展中對《起信論》之傳承所形成的大致認知。

This paper studies the transmission discourse (rather than thetransmission itself) of a 6th-century Buddhist treatise entitled theAwakening of Faith in Mahāyāna, or Qixinlun in its popular Chineseabbreviation.While the study of a transmission looks at its historical facts, thestudy of a transmission discourse looks, instead, at the perceptionsof such a transmission, perceptions that are continued, elaboratedand systematically formulated in the hands of interpreters. Thetransmission of Qixinlun has been extensively and almost exhaustivelystudied since the famous debate over the authenticity of the treatisein the last century, but the transmission discourse of the treatisehas remained virtually neglected. Such a study, however, is equallyimportant, for, to Buddhist believers (or, perhaps, to all human beings),what is perceived is what matters and, in that sense, the perceptionsare in themselves facts, and our understanding of Qixinlun wouldnot be complete without such “facts” of its transmission. This paperis thus designed to treat this unexplored subject, and, with the basicframework of writing, translation and interpretation, seeks to presentwhat the Qixinlun tradition perceives to be the transmission of the treatise.