Basic Timeline

• c.1500-1000 BCE: Formation of Brahmanism

• c.1000-500 BCE: Migration toward Ganges, followed by urbanization around River Ganges, and the formation of jatis.

• c. 400 BCE: Buddha and other critics of Brahmanism

• c. 3rd century BCE: Reign of King Ashoka and the spread of Buddhism in southern Asia

• 1st century BCE-1st century CE: spread of Buddhism to Han China

• c. 1st-3rd centuries CE: Kushans and the creation of Buddhist networks

• c.280-550: The Gupta Empire, deurbanization, revival of Brahmanism

• 5th century: Establishment of Nalanda University

• c. 7th century: Emergence of vajrayana (esoteric Buddhism)

• 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 firstIndian 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 Buddhisttranslations

Emperor Wudi Worshiping

Buddha: DID NOT HAPPEN

White Horse Monastery: NOT

THE FIRST BUDDHIST

MONASTERY IN EAST ASIA

EMPEROR MING’S DREAM: A LATER

FABRICATION

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 2nd-

first 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

卐 CITY A 卐

某某市

卐

卐

卐

Tra

de ro

ute

商道

卐

卐 CITY B 卐

某某市

King, royalty, officials, traders,

workers, etc.

國王，王族，官員商人，工匠 等

ＣＯＵＮＴＲＹ Ａ 甲囯

CITY A 卐

ＣＯＵＮＴＲＹＢ

丙囯

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) the English translation of geyi as “matching the meaning” is incorrect since the Chinese character “ge” 格rather than meaning “matching” stands for “lattice”;

2) geyi was meant to deal with the numerical categories of Buddhist doctrines (shishu事數), lit. “enumeration of items”);

3) geyi was not a translation technique but an exegetical method; and

4) 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

• 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

• 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