Basic Timeline
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c.1500-1000 BCE: Formation of Brahmanism
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c.1000-500 BCE: Migration toward Ganges, followed by urbanization around River Ganges, and
the formation of jatis.
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c. 400 BCE: Buddha and other critics of Brahmanism
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c. 3rd century BCE: Reign of King Ashoka and the spread of Buddhism in southern Asia
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1st century BCE-1st century CE: spread of Buddhism to Han China
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c. 1st-3rd centuries CE: Kushans and the creation of Buddhist networks
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c.280-550: The Gupta Empire, deurbanization, revival of Brahmanism
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5th century: Establishment of Nalanda University
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c. 7th century: Emergence of vajrayana (esoteric Buddhism)
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12th century: Destruction of Buddhist institutions in eastern India
Why did the Chinese accept
Buddhism?
Early History of Buddhism in China:
Debunked Theories
• The dream of Emperor Ming of the Han
Dynasty, leading to the arrival of the first
Indian monks, and the establishment of the
first Buddhist monastery in East Asia (the
White Horse/Baima Monastery)
• The Role of Central Asia as the staging point of
Buddhist transmission to China
• The use of Daoist terminology in early Buddhist
translations
EMPEROR MING’S DREAM: A LATER
FABRICATION
White Horse Monastery: NOT
THE FIRST BUDDHIST
MONASTERY IN EAST ASIA
Emperor Wudi Worshiping
Buddha: DID NOT HAPPEN
Tan Chung and Geng Yinzeng, India and China: Twenty Centuries of
Civilizational Interactions and Vibrations (2005)
The story begins with Han Emperor Ming dreaming
of, in 64 A.D., a golden Buddha flying over his
palace. This led to China’s extending an
invitation for Buddhism to bless the country. This
invitation mobilized Chinese officials and monks
to brave the hazards and perils of a long journey
to the Buddhist shrines in India. Then, this flow
of pilgrims stimulated a counterflow of Indian
Buddhist preachers towards China, for helping
to establish Buddhist institutions.
Sanchi Stupas in India and China
Sanchi Stupa in India
Sanchi Stupa at the White
Horse Monastery
Emperor Ming’s Edict of 65 CE
The king of Chu recites the subtle words of Huanglao, and
respectfully performs the gentle sacrifices to the Buddha.
After three months of purification and fasting, he has
made a solemn covenant (or: a vow) with the spirits.
What dislike or suspicion (from Our part) could there be,
that he must repent (of his sins)? Let (the silk which he
sent for) redemption be sent back, in order thereby to
contribute to the lavish entertainment of the upāsakas
(yipusai) and śramaṇas (sangmen). (Hou Han Shu [History
of the Later Han Dynasty], composed in 5th century CE; translated by
Zürcher)
Buddhist terms also mentioned in 2nd century works
Dongguan Hanji and Xijing fu
Interior of Cave IX, Ma Hao, Sichuan Province
Seated Buddha in
Cave IX, Ma Hao,
Sichuan Province.
Dated to the late 2ndfirst half of 3rd century
Seated Buddha and
two attendants, Late
Han Tomb at
Pengshan, Sichuan
Province
Buddhist engravings on Mount Kongwang
Donor figures, Mount Kongwang
The parinirvana of the Buddha,
Mount Kongwang
Trade Routes and the Spread of Buddhism
King, royalty, officials, traders,
workers, etc.
國王，王族，官員商人，工匠 等
卐
CITY A 卐
卐
卐
CITY A
商
道
卐 CITY
某某市
Trade route
丙囯
卐
某某市
卐
ＣＯＵＮＴＲＹＢ
卐
ＣＯＵＮＴＲＹ Ａ
甲囯
B卐
Early Buddhism in China
• 1st Century BCE?: Transmission of images directly from southern
Asia to China (“long-distance” rather than “contact expansion”), in
disorganized instead of in an organized way, and perhaps before the
chaos marking the end of the Eastern Han dynasty in late-2nd-early
3rd century or dissatisfaction with Confucian teachings.
• 65 CE: Buddhist terms known to the Han court
• c. 65 CE: Possible presence of Buddhist monks and laypeople in
Pengcheng/Luoyang
• Han China (by the third century CE): Early amalgamation of
indigenous and Buddhist ideas, especially at the folk level (Mount
Kongwang, Han Tombs)
Factors Contributing to the Successful Penetration
of Buddhism into Chinese Society
• Misconceived notion of the Buddha and Buddhism
• Early amalgamation with folk beliefs and art
• Flexibility with which Buddhism could be practiced and
the doctrines modified
• The multiethnic nature of transmission and
amalgamation
• Timing and circumstances: Long-distance trade and
interest in immortality
The Buddhist Transformation of
China and the Chinese
Transformation of Buddhism
Timeline: Buddhism in China
• 1st century BCE-1st - Century CE: Introduction of Buddhist images
and ideas
• 3rd Century CE-581CE: Translation of Buddhist texts, missionary
work of foreign monks, Chinese pilgrimage to southern Asia,
political support for Buddhism by rulers in China (Emperor Wu
of the Liang dynasty), popularity of apocryphal texts
• 6th century onwards: Domestication/Sinification of Buddhism,
founding of Chinese schools, Chinese pilgrimage sites, the
emergence of China as one of the central realms of Buddhism,
reverse transmission of Buddhism (Manjusri on Mount Wutai)
• 18th-19th centuries: Spread of Chinese Buddhism to India with
Chinese immigrants
Early Translation and Translators
Recitation of Buddhist Text
Oral Translation
Writing Down of the
Chinese Translation
Editing of the Chinese
Translation
• Parthians: An Shigao &
An Xuan
• Indo-Scythians: Zhi
Loujiachen (Lokaksema?)
& Zhi Qian
• Sogdians: Kang
Mengxiang & Kang
Senghui
• Indian: Zhu Shuofo
• Chinese: Yan Fotiao
Geyi 格義
Since the Buddhist of this period were familiar with the
external or Taoist literature, it is not surprising to find
them having recourse to Taoist texts for words and
phrases to use in their translations. This practice of the
Buddhist of searching through Chinese literature, mainly
Taoist, for expression to explain their own ideas is
known as ke-yi (geyi), or the method of matching the
meaning. This method was used especially by the
translators of the Prajñā sutras for the purpose of making
Buddhist thought more easily understood by the Chinese.
(Kenneth Ch’en 1964: 68)
Problems with Geyi
1)
2)
3)
4)
the English translation of geyi as “matching the
meaning” is incorrect since the Chinese character “ge”
格rather than meaning “matching” stands for “lattice”;
geyi was meant to deal with the numerical categories
of Buddhist doctrines (shishu事數), lit. “enumeration of
items”);
geyi was not a translation technique but an exegetical
method; and
geyi was an extremely short-lived phenomenon.
----Victor H. Mair
Dunhuang Cave Painting
Yungang Caves
Buddhist Relics and Images in China
Mount Wutai and the Sinification of
Buddhism
From (a male) Avalokitesvara to
the (female) Guanyin
The Integration of Buddhism into
Chinese Society
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•
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Translation Projects
Chinese Commentaries
Creation of Apocryphal Texts
Sinification of Buddhism: Formation of
Chinese Buddhist Schools,
Establishment of Sacred Buddhist Sites
in China, and the Emergence of
Chinese Buddhas
Buddhist Transformation of China
• Impact on Chinese concept of afterlife, the notions of
hell(s) and heaven(s)
• Influence on Chinese art, literature, language, cuisine
(introduction of sugar, for example), material culture, and
economy
• Impact of Buddhist ideas about renunciation, action and
retribution, meditation, monastic life, millennial
eschatology
• Buddhist role in trade and diplomacy
• Brought about changes in the Chinese perception of the
world
• Kingship and statecraft
• “Multiculturalization” of China?
Pilgrimage and Chinese Buddhist
Pilgrims
• The concept of pilgrimage 朝拜 to a
foreign region
• The purpose of pilgrimage: proximity to the
holy land, the founder of the religion
• Pilgrimage of Chinese monks (Faxian,
Xuanzang, and Yijing) to India:
Procurement of Buddhist texts 取經？
Contribution of the Chinese Pilgrims to the
Buddhist Interactions between India and
China
• Knowledge of the Buddhist holy land
• Perception of India as a holy land
• Description of the practice of Buddhism in India (and
differences with Chinese Buddhism)
• Procurement of Buddhist texts
• Translation activity
Questions We Need to Ask
• What impact did the pilgrimages have on the
Buddhist interactions between India and China?
• What were the pilgrims’ main sources of
information about India?
• What sort of historical evidence do the
travelogues of the Chinese pilgrims provide to
the understanding of early medieval Buddhism?
• How reliable are these records?
Syllabus
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August 19: Overview of the Buddhist Interactions between India and China
August 20: The Pilgrimage of Chinese Monks to South Asia
Required Reading: Sen, Tansen. “The Travel Records of Chinese Pilgrims
Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing.
Barrett, T.H. “Exploratory Observations on Some Weeping Pilgrims.”
Eckel, M.D. “Chapter 3: Interpreting the Signs of the Buddha.”
August 21: Faxian and his Pilgrimage to India (1)
Required Reading: Chapters 1-20 from Faxian (Website)
August 22: Faxian and his Pilgrimage to India (2)
Required Reading: Chapters 21-40 from Faxian
August 23: Xuanzang and his Pilgrimage to India (1)
Required Reading: Kuwayama Shoshin: How did Xuanzang Learn about
Nalanda.”
Selections from Da Tang Xiyu ji (Website)
August 24: Xuanzang and his Pilgrimage to India (2)
Required Reading: Selections from Da Tang Xiyu ji (Website)
Jan Yun-hua on Huichao.
August 25: Yijing and his Pilgrimage to India (1)
Required Reading: Selections from Yijing’s Records of Buddhist Practices.
August 26: Conclusion and Student Presentations