本文從宗教物質的層面，分析《法華經》經本於中國法華信仰中的定位與功能。不同於以往從宗派觀點來分析《法華經》的思想與詮釋，本文以《法華經》提倡經典為宗教聖物為基礎，進而討論其經本的傳播的物質性，如何呈現在佛教傳播與修行的脈絡中被使用。第一部分以現存《法華經》經本，介紹早期大乘佛教時期，大乘經本崇拜的興起。第二部分從修行與儀式功能切入，探討中國第一部《法華經》的靈驗記─唐代釋惠詳所輯之《弘贊法華傳》中，各式各樣受持、讀、誦、解說、書寫《法華經》經本的方式與意涵。本文釐清《法華經》經本如何具體落實法華信仰，以及法華靈驗記系列中，信仰者對《法華經》經本的態度與使用，有助於我們理解法華信仰的傳播與修行方式。

This paper explores the material impact of sacred texts on Chinese Buddhist ideas, especially the worship of the Lotus Sutra (Fahua jing 法華經). The main goal of the paper is to assess the text’s place and function within Chinese lotus beliefs, an approach different from previous analyses of the text’s ideas and exposition from the viewpoints of various Buddhist schools. Traditional scholarship has focused on the thought of the Lotus Sutra and therefore ignored the material base of its great spread in Asia. This paper views the text as a treasure of Buddhist doctrines, as well as a sacred object used in individual cultivation and collective rituals. The paper features a case study of the Hongzan Fahua zhuan 弘贊法華傳, edited in the Tang dynasty and continuously published until today, that collects all pious practice related to the Lotus Sutra. This work is especially valuable for shedding new light on general worshippers’ attitudes towards Buddhist sutras in their practical forms and internal dynamics. This paper concludes with an assessment of the place of book worship in Chinese Buddhist practice.