the mongol khans and chinese buddhism and taoism

7/28/2019 The Mongol Khans and Chinese Buddhism and Taoism

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THE JOURNAL OF THEINTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OFBUDDHIST STUDIESE D I T O R - I N - C H I E F

A . K. NarainUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

E D I T O R SHeinz Bechert Leon Hurvitz

Universitat Gottingen FRG University of British ColumbiaVancouver, Canada

Lewis Lancaster A . W . MacDonaldUniversity of California, Berkeley, USA Universiti de Paris X, Nanterre, France

B. J. Stavisky Alex WaymanWCNILKR, Moscow, USSR Columbia University, New York, USA

A S S O C I A T E E D I T O R

Stephen BeyerUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

Volume 2 1979 Number 1


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T A BL E O F C O N T E N T S

I . A R T I C L E S1 . The Mongo l Khans and Ch inese Buddh i sm and Tao i sm, bySechin Jagchid2. From Madhyamika to Yogacara, an Analysis of MMK,XX IV. 18 an d MV, 1.1-2, by Gadjin m. Nagao3 . Dynamic Libera t ion in Yogacara Buddhism, by AlanSponberg4 . Yogacara and the Buddhis t Logic ians , by A lex Wayman

I I . S H O R T P A P E R S1. Sambodhi in ASoka's 8th Rock Edict , by A . L. Basham2 . Can Medi ta t ional Prac t ice be Measured? A Report on aQuant i ta t ive Survey , by Jacques Maquet3 . Nirvana and Metaphysica l Exper ience , by Ismael Qu iles

I I I . B O O K R E V IE W S A N D N O T I C E SReviews:

1 . Wo r l d C o n q u e ro r a n d Wo r l d R e n o u n c e r , by S.J. Tambiah2 . Compara t ive E th ic s in Hindu and Buddh i s t Trad i t ions , byRoderick Hindery.3 . Mahayana Buddh i s t Med i t a t ion : Theory and Prac t i ce , byMinoru Kiyota, assisted by Elvin W. Jones4. C h a n d i B o r o b u d u r : A M o n u m e n t o f M a n k i n d , by Dr.

SoekmonoObituary:

1. Paul Demieville, by A lexander W. Macdonald

818491

99103106108

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THE MONGOL KHANSAND CHINESE BUDDHISMAND TAOISMby Sechin Jagchid

Before the Mongols made any contact with peoples of o thercu l tu res , the i r re lig ion was Sham anism , a fai th co m m on am on gthe nomads of Nor th As ia . Mongke Tenggeri, or "Everlas t ingHeaven," was the most exal ted amidst many other heavenlyspir i ts and dei t ies . People able to communicate with Tenggeriand other spir i ts were known to Mongols as bbes,and idiigens.Spec ia l shamans who could communica te wi th Mongke Tenggeriwere honored with the t i t le of Teb Tenggeri,1 (Chs. Kao-t'ien-jen= "Heaven ' s repor te r . " ) The i r du ty was to in te rpre t the "Wil lof Heaven" to the people and to pray for the khan.

With the expans ion of the i r empire , the Mongols made contact with many foreign re l ig ions; however , f rom the Mongolianpoint of view these alien religions were only branches of theMongolian pantheis t ic teachings , their dei t ies addi t ional to thenat ive gods. I f fore ign pr ies ts , monks, or khojas c o m m u n i c a t e dwith Heaven and prayed for the khan, they a lso would be hono red a s boes, for the more prayers for the l i fe of the khan andthe t ranqui l i ty of the people the bet ter . Because of their t radit ional pantheistic beliefs, the Mongols felt no necessity to susta in one re l ig ion and oppress ano ther .

O n th e ot he r ha nd it was c lear to fore ign re l ig ious lead ersthat unless they could win the support of the Mongolian rulers ,they could not fully develop their religion. As a result , mostre l ig ious leaders p rayed for the khan and suppor ted the s ta te .This may expla in why the Chinese Taois t leader Ch ' iu Ch 'u -chi, though very old , t raveled thousands of miles to Afghanis tan to pay homage to Chinggis Khan , and why the T ibe tanlama Sa-skya Pandi ta , the fourth great master of the Sa-skyasect , a lso came personal ly to the camp of Kotan, 2 c o m m a n d i n g

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pr ince of the Mongol ian armies in wes tern China and Tibet .The Mongol s , who ros e f rom be ing a s mal l , unknown nom adic t ribe to co nq ue ror s of the wor ld , could no t avoid contac twi th foreign cu l ture s an d di f feren t w ays of life. T h e ir a do pt io nof those new things also appl ied to foreign rel igions . As thei rsophis t icat ion increased, the Mongol ian rulers began to feelthat thei r own s imple pr imi t ive rel igion could not match thesefore ign re l ig ions , wi th the i r prof ou nd phi losophica l t eaching sand magnif icent r i tuals , and they fel t a need for new rel igionsadequate to the i r new s ta tus as wor ld conquerors . This i s qui tecer ta in ly why var ious members of the Mongol ian ru l ing c lassa t one t ime o r ano the r adop t ed Buddh i s m, Chr i s t i an i t y , o r I s l am.

Bu t why, am o ng so m any re l ig ions , d id the Mo ngol ian kh ansof the Yuan dynas ty in China choose Tibetan Buddhism as theimper ial rel igion and honor Sa-skya-pa lamas as imper ial ins t r uc to r s (ti-shih) ? Bes ides the excuses given by m on ks a n d clergymen, that i t was "by karma"(*nigW in Mongolian, yuan inChinese) , " the wil l of God,M or "Heaven ' s des t iny , " there werehi s tor ica l and cul tura l r easons . However , the purpose of th i spaper i s not to discuss the rel igious fai th of the Mongols themselves but to concentrate on the relat ionship of the Mongols toChines e Buddh i s m and Tao i s m in t he t h i r t een th cen tu ry .

A diff icul t q ue st ion to an sw er accu rately is w h et h er i t wasthe Chinese Buddhis t s or the Taois t s who contac ted the Mongols f i rs t . According to available sources i t seems that the Buddhis t s made the ear l i es t contac t . When the Mongols invadedN o r t h C h i n a d u r i n g t h e J u r c h e n - C h i n d y n a st y , t h e f a m o u smonk Yin-ch ' i en , ( a l so known as Mas ter Hai -y i in , 1207-1257) ,had a l ready made personal contac t wi th the Kuowang ("king ofa s t a t e" ) Mukha l i / Commander - i n - ch i e f o f t he Mongol i anforces and the top Mongol ian adminis t ra tor in Nor th China .T h ro u g h t h is power fu l l eader 's r eco m m en da t ion , Y in-ch 'i enreceived the honorable rel igious t i t le Kao-t'ien-jen f rom Ching-gis K ha n. In h is you th h e was a d i sc ip le of M as ter C hu ng -k ua n,and was l a ter r ece ived in audience by Chinggis Khan. The Fo-tsu li-tai t'ung-tsai r e c o r d s :

When the mas ter was th i r t een years o ld 4 [ 1 2 1 9 ] E m p e r o rChingg i s was cam pa ig n ing in t he r ea lm u n d er H eaven . J u s tthen the Master was in Ning-yiian when the ci ty fel l . [The8


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Maste r ] , am on g a ll the pe op le , pe r sona lly ap pro ac he d thepresence o f the Sa in t ly [Emperor ] . [The Emperor ] adv i sednim [ to allow his hair to grow a n d ] to we ar a coil . T h e M asteranswered, "If [ I ] fol low the style of the Nation [Mongols] , Ican no t keep the s ty le o f a m onk ." W he reu po n [T he Emperor] made a decree a l lowing [him] to cont inue his or ig inalpract ice .T h e Tung-tsai con t i nues :

W he n the M aster was e igh teen [12 19] , the Heavenly t ro op sa p p r o a c h e d a g a i n . Tai-shih kuo-wang ' [Mukhal i ] d i rected thet roops to a t tack Lan-ch 'eng. 6 All the people escaped and disper sed [bu t ] the Mas te r r emained to se rve Chung-kuan asu su a l . . .Th e nex t day, the city su r re nd ere d . . .Th e Kuo-wangput Chung-kuan and the Mas te r under the d i r ec t ru le o f theE m pe ro r Chingg i s . . .Em pe ror Chingg i s i ssued an Imp er ia lDecree to Kuo-wang M ukhal i say ing : T h e o ld e lder an d theyoung e lder , whom you repor ted to me th rough an envoy ,are t ru ly Kao-t'ien-jen. Nour ish them nicely wi th c lo thine andfood , make them the head-men , and t ake good care o f them.. . Upon receiving th is Decree , the Kuo-wang bes towed uponthem great mercy. . .All their needs were supplied by theoff ice . Thus the name of the Young Elder began to bekno wn . At the age o f n ine teen [1220] , C hu ng -k u an . . . passedaway. . . [La ter] the M aster en te re d Yen [Peking] an d stayedat [ the monastery of ] Great Ch ' ing-shou-ssu . 7By the t ime Hai-yun was th i r teen, in 1214 , Chinggis hadbeen ca m paig n ing in N or th C hina fo r th ree years , and the

Mongolian forces were besieging Yen (Peking) . Consequently,C hu ng - ku an an d Ha i - yun had an opp o r t un i t y t o m ee t C h i ng gis Khan. The Khan 's to lerance towards the young acolyte andhis master was probably due to the t radi t ional Mongol ian Sha-manis t ic pract ices . On the o ther hand, Hai-yi in ' s bold refusalto obey the Khan 's order might ac tual ly have pleased the khanbecause of h is d isposi t ion to honor a s t ra ight - forward person.However , the short visi t had no fur ther signif icance forC h i n e s e B u d d h i s m .The Mongols occupied Yen (Peking) , in 1215. In 1216,Chingg i s , confe r r ing the r ank o f Tai-shih kuo-wang on Mukhal i ,a l lowed him to manage the lord-chancel lor ' s af fa i r s . Mukhal i ' sr ec om m en da t ion was im po r tan t bo th for ob ta in ing Hea ven ' sbless ings for the Khan and to indicate the Mongols ' concern

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for the religious activities of their Chinese subjects. FromChinggis Khan's decree one may infer that both master anddisciple had already been recognized by the Khan as chief shamans, or Teb-Tenggeri, also appointed headmen over ChineseBuddhist affairs. Thus it appears that Chinese Buddhist leaders had earlier contact with the Mongolian authorities than theTaoists.Chinese Taoism by this period had developed into two mainstream s, mainly because of the political confro ntation betweenthe Jurchen-Chin and the Chinese Sung. To the north, in the

realm of Chin, was the Chiian-chen Sect headed by Ch'iu Ch'u-chi (also entitled, Ch'ang-ch'un chen-jen, "the perfect man ofeverlasting spring"); to the south of the Yangtze River was theCheng-i Sect led by Chang Tien-shih, "the heavenly instructor,"and his household.8 In the early thirteenth century, there wasstill no need for the Cheng-i Sect and its leaders to establishcontact with the Mongols; however, due to the military threatof the Mongols, the Chiian-chen Sect was pressed to sue forthe favor of the invaders. Ch'ui Ch'u-chi, head of the sect, wasbrought to the attention of Chinggis Khan by a Chinese courtier, Liu Chung-lu. In 1219, the Khan dispatched Liu to Shang-tu ng to invite this famous Taoist to his cou rt. Th e m eeting tookplace during Chinggis' western expedition against Khorezm.It is unclear whether this historic invitation was motivated bythe Khan's interest in meeting the "Perfect Man" or whetherit was due to a consistent Mongolian policy of summoning thevarious religious leaders they could reach. But, it is understandable that the "world conqueror" would anxiously desirea long life.

According to a late Yuan work, T'ao Tsung-i's Ch'o-ching-lu,Chinggis K han's d ecree to the Taoist Ch'iu C h'u-chi was as follows:As soon as [We] humbly discovered [you ] hsien-sheng 9[teacher], in [your] retreat in the old territory of Shantung,We limitlessly admired and were sincerely concerned about[you]. . . . However, with many m ountains and rivers between [us], it is impossible for Us to fulfill the ceremony ofwelcoming you in person. But We will devoutly cleanse Ourbody with oaths and eat vegetarian food. . . . [We] invite[you], the teacher, to condescend in your immortal steps andto come to Us, notwithstanding the deserts and the remote-

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ness . [You] may faithfully instruct Us for th e sake of the pe ople and the s ta te , and sympathet ica l ly provide the nour ishingm et ho d for O u r body. We will serve you in p er so n besid e[your] im m orta l seat. We earnest ly n op e that even on ephrase f rom the remnant of your spi t may susta in [Us].10Here, for the Chinese cour t ier Liu Ch 'ung- lu the so-cal led"nour i sh ing way fo r body" was perhaps the on ly method to ge tp r om ot i on f o r himself. To accompl i sh the dua l purposes o f theK h a n a n d himself, Liu went as a special emissary in 1219 tosum m on t he i m m or t a l T ao i s t f r om S han t ung . T he e l egan tChinese decree that Liu del ivered to the Taois t Master was very

dif feren t f rom on e of purely M ongo l ian ton e. I t was very differe nt f rom the style of ot he rs fou nd in th e Secret History o f theMongols and f rom the Yuan col loquia l decrees to both Buddhis tand Taois t temples col lec ted in the Ta-Yiian sheng-cheng kuo-ch'ao tien-chang.n Chinggis Khan d id no t have an apprec ia t ionof Chinese cu l tu re , a s d id h i s g randson , Khubi la i . Moreover ,the express ion "devotedly c leansing Our body wi th baths andeat veg etar ia n foo d" is ent irely ou t of ch ara cte r for a w ar r io rhe ro of the nom ad ic wor ld . T h e same is t ru e of the not io n that"even one phrase f rom the remnant of your spi t may susta inUs."

Ch inggis K han 's h is toric conv ersat ion wi th Ch ' iu Ch 'u-chitook place in the snowy mountains of Afghanis tan . I t was anovel chat between the wor ld conqueror , who had spent h is l i feat war on horseback, and a rel igious leader , f rom the quiet l i feof re t rea t an d m edi ta t ion . Th o u g h th e talk d id no t rea lly satisfythe Khan , i t d id r esu l t in mutua l under s tand ing and respec tan d great ly inf luenced la ter h is torical even ts . Tao is t reco rds assess the meeting as very successful . However , in an accountwr i t ten by the Yuan monk Hsiang-mai , the s tory i s somewhatdi f ferent : "Al l the answers of Master Ch ' iu to [ the Throne]wer e qu i t e com m on . " 1 2

M aster Ch ' iu ' s d isc ip le , Li Ch ih-ch 'ang , reco rde d t he m aintalk as follows:After set t l ing in the hostel , [ the Master] immediately wentfo r an aud ience . The Emperor , comfor t ing [h im] , said,"[You] d id not respond to the invi ta t ions of o ther countr ies ,but t raveled tens of thousands of miles to arr ive [here] . Weare great ly p leased." [The Master ] repl ied , "The reason that

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[I], a person of the countryside, accepted the d ecree to comewas [the will] of Heaven.' The Emperor was pleased andallowed [the Master] to be seated. After a meal [the Empe ror ] asked, "As a chen-jen ["the perfect person"] from afar,what kind of medicine of perpetual life do you have to helpUs?" The Master replied, AThe re is a way to pro long life bu tno medicine for perpetual l ife as such. ' The Emperor appreciated his honesty and [ordered] two tents to be erectedeast of the Imperial Pavilion to accommodate [the Master].[Later] the in terp rete r asked: "You are addressed as Tenggerimongke kumiin. Is that what you call yourself or do other people so address you?" T h e Master said, "It is not [I], a perso nof the countryside, who calls myself that. I am called that byothers." The interpreter again asked, "What were you calledin the old days?" [The Master] replied [to the Emperor],"The people of the world call [me] hsien-sheng [teacher]."The Emperor asked Chimkhai, "What should the perfectperson be called?"13 Chimkhai replied, "Some persons call[him] respectfully the teacher, the perfect person, or the immortal." The Emperor said, "From now on let [him] becalled the immortal."

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It is not difficult to see that the sincere desire of ChinggisKhan was for the medicine of perpetual life. His quest failed,but he was not distressed. He calmly approved of Ch'iu's honesty. On one hand the Khan exerted strict self-control. On theother hand, because this famous Taoist had "not responded tothe invitation of other countries but had traveled tens of thousands of miles" to meet Chinggis Khan, the Khan said that hewas greatly pleased. It appears that he wanted to impress theChinese, with whom he was actually waging a psychologicalwar. In order to emphasize the fact, the Khan had his interpreter ask the Taoist whether the high title, Tenggeri mongkekiimiin, "the Heavenly everlasting person" was self-assumed orwhether it was legitimately conferred by others. This suggeststhat the Khan tried to find out whether the Taoist was an im-poster.In confirming a title for the Chinese visitor, the Mongolianmonarch also made a very careful choice among the three alternatives of "teacher," "perfect person" and "immortal" (shen-hsieri). He selected the last one, and did not entitle Ch'iu theteacher {hsien-sheng). From this, one may infer that the conversation did not convert the Khan to the teachings of this Taoist,although he remained a supporter. This contrasted with the12


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la ter convers ion of h is grandsons: Pr ince Kotan accepted theSa-skaya Pandi ta as h is teacher and Khubi la i Khan made thePhags-pa Lama the Imper ia l Ins t ruc to r o f h i s r ea lm.Most of the Chinese wr i ters would l ike to emphasize the impor tant achievements on both s ides as fo l lows. Ch ' iu Ch 'u-chi ' sleadership in the re l ig ious wor ld was f i rmly guaranteed by theKhan . The Tao i s t p r i es t s and t emples o f Nor th China werep r o t ec t ed and exem pt ed f rom t ax and co rvee du t i e s . T h r o ug hthe se special pr ivi leges Ch ' iu was able to pro vid e safe refu gefor many in te l lec tuals and others in Taois t temples dur ing thet roub led per iods o f the Mongol ian conques t . On the o therhand, Chinggis Khan achieved f ru i t fu l resul ts for Mongol ians tr a tegy fr om t hi s m ee t i ng . T h e Ju r ch en - C h i n E m pe r o r andoff icials of the Chinese Sung dynasty had invited the Taoistseveral t imes but were al l pol i tely turned down. This was thenot ion that of those who invi ted h im only Chinggis Khan wasthe t rue Son of Heaven wi th a Mandate to uni fy the universe ,and the only sovereign to whom Ch' iu should pay his respects .In th is manner Chinggis had achieved a success in h is psychological pol i t ica l propaganda.T he no t ed con t em por a r y C onf uc i an scho l a r , Yuan Hao-wen ,15 est imates that by the end of the Chin dynasty and thebeg inn ing o f the Yuan , twenty percen t o f the popula t ion o fN or th Ch ina was u n de r the in fluence o f the Ch ua n-c he n Sect.16T h u s , for Chinggis Khan, a good connect ion wi th the leaderof this powerful sect meant a great victory in his campaign

against Chin .Chinggis Khan 's contact wi th Ch ' iu Ch 'u-chi might havebeen the Khan 's f i r s t encounter wi th the cul t ivated , phi losophical and rel igious leader , and he obviously was great ly impressed. Ear l ier , the Khan had had a br ief contact wi th theB ud dh is t mo nk H ai-yt in , but the Kh an was no t m o re favorablyincl ined to Ch inese Bu dd his m as a resul t . Ch ing ghis K ha ncould not have known of the long s t ruggle between Taoismand Buddhism in Chinese h is tory . Eventual ly in th is s t rugglethe Khan too granted specia l pr iv i leges to th is Taois t leader ,which enabled him to provide refuge for Chinese in te l lec tualsin h i s t emples . Th i s ac t ion d i sappoin ted bo th Buddhis t monksan d Confucian scholars . T h e ex pan sion of Tao is t inf luence s t imu la ted the Budd his t s to l aunch a cou n te ra t t ac k l a te r, d u r in g13


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the re ign of Mongke Khan ( r . 1251-1259) .Chinggis Khan passed away in 1227 and his son Ogodei ascen ded the th ro ne in 1229 . Th is same yea r , the g rea t B udd h is tsuppor ter Yeh- lu Ch 'u- ts 'a i was promoted to the pos i t ion ofpremier . Al l these events were unfavorable for the Taois tCh 'uan-chen Sect . However , Ogodei Khan d id not a l te r the t ra dit ional Mongolian policy of rel igious tolerance, so the Buddhis t countera t tack agains t the Taois ts was pos tponed for twodecades. During this s ignif icant change in the poli t ical s i tuat ion , the grea t Taois t Master Ch 'u i Ch 'u-chi a lso d ied . Fromthat t im e, the Taois t m ov em en t was no t as ac tive as the B ud dh is t s under the leade rsh ip o f the ou ts tand ing monk Ha i -y t in .

Re g a rd in g th e Bu d d h i s t m o v e m e n t a m o n g th e Mo n g o l s , t h eYuan shih records , "When the Yuan arose in the nor th they a l r e a d y h o n o re d Bu d d h i s m ." 1 7 The record mus t have some h is torical basis , but the record is unclear as to the t ime, the persons involved and o ther de ta i ls .

The Yuan monk Nien-ch 'ang recorded Hai-y t in ' s ac t iv i t iesin the Mongo l ian Cour t :

In the f irs t month of the ting-yu [1237] the Second Empressof Emperor T 'a i - tsu offered to the Master the t i t le of Kuang-t'ien cnen-kuo ta-shih [The grea t master of g lor i fy ing heavenand pac ify ing the k ingdom]. In the winter of the year chi-hai[1239] , the M aster was again appo in t ed A bbot of the G rea tCh ' ing -shou Monas te ry .The mos t mean ingfu l th ing Ha i -y t in d id , and mos t impor tant for la ter his tory, was his teaching of Buddhism to Khubilaia t the la t te r 's p r ince ly res idence , in the year 1242 . T h e m on knot only won Khubi la i ' s sympathy and suppor t for ChineseBuddhism but a lso succeeded in p lan t ing the bas ic t ru ths ofBuddhism in the hear t of the fu ture khan , which f ina l ly madehim recept ive to Buddhis t teachings and led h im to favor Buddhism over o ther re l ig ions . In Tung-tsai the Yu an m onk Nien-c h ' a n g w ro te :In the jen-yin year [1242] the Grea t Pr ince Khubi la i inv i tedthe master to h is pavi l ion and asked h im about the genera lideas of the Law of the Buddha. At f irs t the Master exp la ined the teaching of men and heaven, and the re la t ionship between cause and effect . Next he explained several keywo rds of the Law to op en th e Pr ince ' s he ar t . Th e n fa i th grew

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in the hear t of the Pr ince; and he asked for the discipl inedhear t of a bodhisat tva.At that t ime secretary Liu Ping-chung 1 9 was in the service[of the Pr ince] . [Khubi lai ] again quer ied, "Does the Law ofthe Buddha provide the way for the rea lm under heaven toenjoy t ranqui l i ty?" The Master said, " In the realm of theLaw, i t provides l i fe to the four kinds of l iving beings. Thesefacts are al l included in the realm of the Law of the Buddha.However , as for the t ranqui l i ty or unres t of a s tate , everyth ing dep en ds up on t he j oy o r s u ff e ri ng o f t he peop l e . T h ejoy or suf fer ing , peace or danger , depends upon pol i t i cs . Ofcourse , i t a l so depends upon the Wi l l of Heaven. In theteach ing of the Law of o ur Bu d d h a, the funct ion of the co ur thas al read y bee n p oin ted ou t c learly. I t is ne i th er easy n o rdi f f icul t , but i t might be imposs ible for Your Highness , thePrin ce , to pract ic e. I t w ould De be t ter to invite wise m en a n dlearned scholars f rom al l par ts of the realm to query themabout the his tory of t ranqui l i ty and the decl ine of s tates , nowand then . Your Highness may learn something by l i s t en ingto them." The Pr ince asked again , "Among the three re l i g ions [Buddhism, Taoism, and Confuciani sm] which one i sthe most honorable, which has the bes t law, and which is theoutermos t?" The Mas ter answered , "Among a l l sages , onlyBuddhi s t monks a r e no t t r i cky . Ther e f o r e f rom anc i en tt imes , Buddhism has a lways been he ld above the o thers .The Pr ince honored h im as h i s ins t ruc tor . The Pr ince askedhim to s tay, but the Master insis ted on leaving. Before hisdepar ture, the Pr ince asked, "After you leave, how shal l Ikeep the Law of Buddha?" The Master said, " I t i s di f f icul tfor faith to grow. Faith is not easy to develop. Since it hasem er g ed , it is im po r ta nt to hold i t fas t wi th all yo ur he ar t .P lease do not forget the discipl ined mind of a bodhisat tva.Do no t f ind faul t with the T h r e e Jew els , an d always be m ind ful of the sufferings of the people. Always do beneficialworks for o thers . These are the Laws of the Buddha." 2 0In the Ta-Yilan Chih-yiian-pien-wei-lu, a work of the Yuan

monk Hs iang-mai , there are a l so some records of the ear lyBuddhis t ac t iv i t i es in the pre-Yuan Mongol ian Cour t . Amongthem, however , t he mos t r emarkab l e ach i evement s were t hos eof the Kashmir l ama, Na-mo. In "The Biography of Tege" inth e Yuan shih it says:

T eg e . . . was a ma n from K ashm ir . . . . B oth his fath er O -t 'o-ch ' i [Otochi] and his uncle Ma-mo [Namu] were disciples ofthe Buddha. One day O- t 'o-ch ' i and h i s bro ther sa id to eacho th er : "T h e wo r ld is full of un res t , and o u r co un try is de -15


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d in in g , bu t in the no rth ea st th er e is the s ign of the Son ofH ea ve n. W hy shou ld we no t go an d follow h im ?" So theycame toge ther and were rece ived by T 'a i - t sung [OgodeiK h a n ] . Ting- t sung [G uyug K han] made N a-mo h i s in s t ruc tor . . . . H s ien- t s un g [M ongke Kh an] ho no re d N a-m o wi ththe title of kuo-shih ["state ins t ru c tor" ] , bes towed u p o n h ima ja d e sea l, an d ap po in te d h im to adm in is te r B udd his t a f fa ir sin the rea lm under heaven .2 1Undoubted ly , the in f luence of the g rea t Phags-pa Lama onKhubila i Khan was a decis ive factor . Nevertheless , the ChineseB ud dh is t scho la r L iu P ing -chu ng , an o t he r im po r tan t figure ,

in f luenced the M ongol ian ru le rs in the i r app rec ia t ion of C hineseBuddh i sm. L iu , w ho l a t e r became one o f the impor tan t foun de rs of th e Y uan s ta te , or ig inal ly was a m on k at tac hed to th epr ince ly res idence of Khubi la i . In a t tend ing the young pr ince ,he ha d amp le op po r tu n i ty to in f luence h im wi th the teach ingsof the Buddha . In add i t ion , Hai -y i in and L iu P ing-chung hadan in t imate persona l re la t ionsh ip as mas te r and d isc ip le . Consequent ly , in the s t ruggle of Taois ts against the Buddhis ts , Liuwas natural ly on the s ide of the la t ter . Liu , half monk, halfConfuc ian schola r , l a te r became one of the main p lanners fo rthe fo r thco m ing Y uan D ynasty , and he r ec om m en de d m anyimpor tan t Chinese scho la rs to Khubi la i . The s tand of the Mongol ian Court in the case of the Buddhis t-Taois t s t ruggle wasobvious ly in f luenced th rough such con tac ts .

Hai -y i in was con t inua l ly o rd er ed to adm in is te r B ud dh is t affa i r s dur ing the re igns o f Guyi ig Khan (1246-1248) andMongke Khan (1251-1259) . Th is was no t on ly a persona l success for H ai-yi in , bu t a lso inf luenced M ong olian policy tow ard sre l ig ious a f fa i r s in China . "The Annals o f Hs ien- t sung[M ongke K ha n]" in the Yiian shih records , " the monk Hai -y i inwas in charge of Buddhis t a f fa i r s and the Taois t L i Chen-ch'ang2 '2 was in charge of Taoist affairs ." 2 3

T h e Ta-Yiian sheng-ch'eng kuo-Ch'ao tien-chang r e c o r d s :On the s ix teenth day of the f i f th month of the th ir ty-f i rs tyear of Chih-yuan [1294] the Premier ' s Off ice received aSaint ly decree which sa id: "In the Saint ly decrees of the Former Emperors , Chinggis and Ogodei , i t has been sa id , 'Release the [Buddhis t ] monks , the Chr is t ian pr ies t s and theTaois t pr ies ts f rom al l their corvee dut ies and taxes . Havethem repor t to Heaven and pray for [Our] long l i fe . Now16


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accord ing to th i s p receden t o f the Former [Emperors ' ]Sain t ly decrees , exempt [ them] f rom the i r corvee dut ies andtaxes an d have the m rep o r t to He aven and pra y for [O ur]long life. This by His Majesty. ' " 24T h u s , both Chingg i s and Ogo de i Kha n ex em pte d f romcorve dut ies and taxes the Buddhis t , Taois t and Chr is t ianpr ies thoods , according to the t radi t ional Mongol ian broad-minded a t t i tude towards a l l re l ig ions .T he a f o r e m e n t i one d "B i og r a phy o f T e ge " m e n t i ons t he a r r iva l of the Kashmir lama Na-mo in the Mongol ian Cour t andsays, "Hs ien- t sung [Mongke Khan] honored Na-mo wi th thetitle of kuo-shih [S ta te Ins t ru c to r ] , bes towed u po n h im a ja d eseal , an d ap po int ed h im to adm inis ter B ud dh is t a ffa irs in a llthe r ea lm under heaven . " 2 5 H ow ev er, i t is difficult to d ec id ew he the r th is even t ha pp en ed b efore or a f ter Hai -y i in 's ap pointment . Never the less , th is se t the precedent for appoint inga non-Chinese monk to adminis ter Buddhis t a f fa i rs in a l l the

em pi re , inc lud ing China . In o the r words , th is was a fo re r un ne rof the inst i tut ional ized funct ion of Ti-shih, t he Imper ia l In structor , a post a lways occupied by the great lamas of the Tibetan Sa-skya sect.Through the mee t ing o f the famous Tao i s t mas te r Ch ' iuCh 'u-chi wi th Chinggis Khan, the Ch ' i ian-chen sec t obta inedespecia l ly favorable suppor t f rom the Mongols and consequ en tly, "f lourished l ike th e sun in the m idd le of the sky."2fi T h i sTaoist sect was then able to save many people, but a lso inevi tably at t racted the host i l i ty of Buddhism. The evi l deeds of theTaoists l is ted by Hsiang-mai in the Ta-Yuan Chih-yuan pien-wei-lu are l ike ly exaggera ted and pre judiced; never the less , they arenot all false accusations.In genera l , a f te r the dea th of Ch ' iu Ch 'u-chi the Taois ts werenot as act ive as Buddhists . This was probably due to the r ise

to power of Ogodei Khan and his appointment of Yeh- l i i Ch 'u-ts'ai, a devoted Buddhis t , as h is premier for Chinese af fa i rs .Even so, the Taoists were not neglected by the Mongoliancour t , and Taois t leaders " rece ived documents wi th the Imperial Seal to administer the affairs of their rel igion." WhenMongke Khan ascended the th rone (1251) he appo in ted L iChen-ch 'ang to oversee Taois t a f fa i rs .2 7 (Th i s "L i Chen-ch ' ang"is a m ispronu nc ia t ion o f the nam e L i Ch ih-ch ' ang , the a u th or17


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of Hsi-yu-chi and Ch ' iu Ch 'u -ch i ' s counse lor in the Ch ' i ian-chenSect.)The long h is to r ica l conf l ic t be tween Taoism and Buddhism

was not m er e cu l tura l s t rug gle betw een two diffe ren t re l ig ions ,one of Ch inese o r ig in and the o th e r Ind ian ba ckg roun d , bu twas also a polit ical and economic conflict . This complicated earl ier h is tor ical background was not known to the Mongolian rule rs dur ing the i r ea r ly occupa t ion of China . However , when theBuddh i s t monks d i scove red tha t the i r opponen t s had ga inedsuppor t f rom Chinggis Khan , they immedia te ly reca l led thesepainful h is tor ical experiences suffered in the past , and t r ied tof ind som e way to inf luence th e Mo ngolian c ou rt so as to pr ev en ta reo ccu rren ce of the d isas te r suf fe red by the Pr op er Law.

T h e e f for ts o f N a-m o an d Hai -yun in f luenced the M ongol ianrulers to renew their pol icy towards Chinese re l ig ions . Moreover , the convers ion of Pr ince Kotan to T ib e tan B ud dh ism an dthe persona l re la t ionsh ip be tween Pr ince Khubi la i and Phags-pa Lama grea t ly a ided the Chinese Buddhis t s in expandingthe ir inf luence in the M ongo lian co urt . F irs t of a ll , they discred i ted Ch ' iu Ch 'u-chi , accusing him of d ishonesty in deal ing withChinggis Khan . In o rder to ga in the suppor t o f the new KhanMongke in re ta l ia t ing aginst the Taois ts , they foresaw a sympa the t ic a t t i tude on the par t o f the Mongol ian ru le rs , and madeassertions to the Khan that they were the victims of evil Taoistact iv i t ies . The Yuan Han-lin schola r Chan Po-ch 'un ,2 8 in hispreface to the Ta-Yiian Chih-yuan pein-wei-lu, the work of themonk H s iang -ma i , s a id :

T h e Taois t Ch ' iu Ch 'u -ch i , L i Ch ih-ch 'ang and o the rs d es t royed the T ' ien -ch eng Confuc ian T em pl e o f Hs i -ch ing an dturned i t in to [ the Taois t temple] Wen-ch 'eng Kuan . [They]des t royed the image o f B ud dh a Sakyam un i , the w h i t e j a d e[ image] of Kuan -yin [AvalokiteSvara] , an d th e sacred pa go daof B ud dh is t rel ics . [Th ey] p lo t ted aga ins t an d occupied to ur -hundred e igh ty - tw o Buddh i s t monas te r i e s , and sp read thefalse words of Wang Fu,2!) th e Lao Tsu to-shih-i hua-t'u [ T h eeigh ty-o ne convers io n figures of Lao T s u ] to mislead th epeople . Then the E lder [Fu-]yu of the Shao- l in [Monas te ry]led the honorab le ins t ruc tors to the Cour t and memor ia l ized[ the case] to the fo rmer Emperor Mongke .5"Upon rece iv ing th is Buddhis t pe t i t ion , Mongke Khan dec ree d a de ba te in the year 1258 be tween the mo nk s an d the

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Tao i s t s . H s iang -ma i con t inued :T h e n His Majesty , the Em pe ro r [Khubila i] was o rd e re d by[ the Former Emperor ] Mongke , to assemble the e l i te o f thenine schools3 1 again to discuss and to dis t inguish between thetru th an d fa lseness of the two ways of the m on ks an d theTaois ts . Accept ing the Saint ly Decree of the Former Empe ror , H is Majesty , the Em pe ror , dec ided to su m m on thetwo s ides of B ud dh ism an d Tao ism with the Elder of theShao- l in [Monas te ry] as the head of the monks and ChangChen-jen as the head of the Taoist priests to come to the palace at Shangtu to discuss face to face in the presence of [HisMajesty] under the Grand Hall . Also present were the Sta teInstructor Na-mo, the Sta te Ins tructor Phags-pa, :V 2 His Exce l lency the Sen ior Guard ian of the Hei r -Apparen t Ts 'ung[Liu P ing-ch ung ] ; o th er m onk s to tal ling m or e than th reeh un dr ed ; Confuc ian scho lar s T ou H an -cn ' ing , " Y ao K u ng-m ao :M and o the r s ; P remie r Meng-su - su , " V ice -P remie rLien, :, h Premie r Molkhach i , Chang Chung-ch ' i en 4 7 and twohundred others [off ic ia ls and scholars] to witness ; and theTaois t p r ies t s Chang chen-jen, W a n g hsien-sheng f rom Mantzu[Sou th Ch ina ] and m ore than tw o h u nd re d o th e r s to deba tewith the [Buddhis t] monks.SRThe presence of so many digni tar ies and luminaries i l lustrates how great and significant the meeting was. I t also showsthe deep concern of bo th Mongke Khan and Pr ince Khubi la i .Bes ides the Buddhis t and Taois t opponents , many Confuc ianschola rs a t tended , inc lud ing Yao Shu , Tao Mo, Chang Wen-ch ' ien and Lien Hsi-hsien. The crux of th is great debate wasrecorded in "The inscr ipt ion for the destruct ion of the fa lsescr ip tures of the Taois t col lect ions in all d is t r ic ts as co m m an de dby the Saintly Decree" (Shen-chih fen-hui chu-lu wei-Tao-tsang-

ching chih pei). T h e inscr ipt ion was com po sed by the Han-linScho la r s T a n g F ang and W ang P 'an3 9 in the year 1284:In the t ime of the re ign of Emperor Hs ien- t sung [Mongke] ,the Taois ts produced a book cal led Lao-chun hua-hu ch'eng-foching ["The sc r ip ture o f Lao Tsu ' s t ransform at ion to Bu dd hathrough the convers ion of barbar ians"] and Pa-shih-i-hua tu["T he eig hty -on e con vers ion figures"]. T h e w ord s ar e vile,shallow an d extra vag ant . [T heir ] pu rp os e is to despise Bu ddhism and to e levate their own teachings . Then His Majestywas s taying a t [h is] pr incely res idence. [Former] EmperorHsien- tsung ordered the two par t ies o f Buddhis t s and

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Taoists to proceed to His Majesty's palace to debate. Both ofthe parties agreed that: if the Taoists won then the monkswould wear hats to become Taoist; if the monks won thenthe Taoists would shave [their] hair to become monks. Themonks asked the Taoists, "Your book is named the Scriptureof Transformation to Buddha through the Conversion ofthe Barbarians. What does the [word] Buddha mean?" TheTaoist answered, "The Buddha is the [great] awakening. Itmeans the awakening of heaven and earth, the awakeningof yin and yang, the awakening of and benevolence and uprightness." The monk said, 'It is not so. The awakeningmeans self-awakening, to awaken others, the fulfillment ofthe deed of awakening and the clear completion of the[above] three awakenings. Therefore, this is said to be theBuddha. It is not limited only to the awakening of heavenand earth, yin and yang, and benevolence and uprightness."His Majesty said, I also understand by heart tnat benevolence and uprightness are the words of Confucius. [They]said that Buddha is the awakening of benevolence and uprightness. Their theory is wrong." The Taoist again proceeded and presented the Shih-chi and other books and triedto talk more and to win by chance. The Imperial InstructorPandita Phags-pa said, "What book is it?" [The Taoist] said,"It is the book about the emperors and kings of earlier dynasties." His Majesty said, "Now it is purposed to discuss religion. Why should all hang on these emperors and kings ofearlier dynasties?" The Imperial Instructor said, "In our India, there is also a Shih-chi [record of history]. Have youheard of it?" [The Taoists] answered, "Not yet." The Imperial Instructor said, "Let me explain it to you. In India theKing Bimbasara praised the merit of the Buddha and said,'Above heaven and under heaven there is nothing equivalentto Buddha.' When he was speaking these words, where wasLao Tzu?" The Taoist could not answer. The Imperial Instructor again asked, "Is the theory of the conversion of thebarbarians [recorded] in your Shih-chi?" [The Taoist] said,"No." The Imperial Instructor said, "Since it is not in theShih-chi, and again it is not recorded in the T'ao-te ching, itis clear that this is a falsehood!" The words of the Taoistswere submitted. Minister Yao Shu said: "The Taoists are defeated." His Majesty commanded that the punishment beperformed as it had been agreed upon and dispatched theenvoy Toghon to proceed to the Lung-kuang Monastery toshave the hair of the Taoist Fan Chih-yin and seventeenother persons to make them monks, and burn forty-fivebooks of the false scriptures. In the realm under heaven two-hundred thirty-seven Buddhist Monasteries that had been

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occupied by the Taoists were all ordered to be returned [tothe Buddhists].40From these records it is clear that this great debate was aTaoist struggle against an alliance of Buddhists and Confucianscholars. The background for this debate was not only religiouscontradictions but also political and cultural conflicts. The mostdecisive argument that put down the Taoists was from themouth of Phags-pa. This not only increased his personal prestige and brought him reverence from Khubilai, but also greatlyinfluenced Chinese society and its traditional culture andthought. Of course, the influence of Na-mo should not be neglected.This great debate has also been recorded in the Tibetan HorChos-'byung (a history of Mongolian Buddhism) by Jigmen-namkha:Then in China there were many people of wrong views.Th ey were the followers of the ancient Tai-shang Lao-chunand were called shing-shing. Considering this matter as aharmful thing to both themselves and others, the Khan commanded [Phags-pa] to extinguish these evil persons and tocause them to follow the Proper Law [of Buddha]. Thereupon through the principle of proper reason he subduedthis heresy, swiftly extinguished the leading figures of theshing-shing, turned their wrong views into proper views andordered them to become monks to develop the Law of Buddha Shakyamuni.4'This Tibetan record indicates that the event was a significantvictory in Buddhist history and was highly praised by TibetanBuddhists. In fact, however, this victory did not overcome theTaoist activities effectively, and therefore, after Khubilai became the Khan (r. 1260-1294) the Buddhists again petitionedthe court to destroy the Taoist scriptures. This was again au

thorized by Khubilai Khan and in the winter of 1281 he ordered the Buddhists and Taoists to debate their doctrines. T hedecree says:Formerly, according to the Decree of Emperor Mongke, inthe year of wu-wu [1258], the monks and the Taoists carriedout a debate on the Law of Buddha. The Taoists lost. Uponthis, the Huan-hu-chine and other scriptures, which werefalsely made from the ues of the Taoists, together with their

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Taois t in f luence and aga in ex tended the Buddhis t movementf rom N or th China to the sou th . T h e Bu ddh is t -Tao i s t confli ctprobably a l ready exis ted before the Mongol ian occupat ion.Af ter the col lapse of the Southern Sung, Yang- l ien-chen-chiacame to the Chiang-che a rea (p resen t Kiangsu and Chekiang)as the General Director of Buddhism south of the YangtzeRiver . I t appears that he was u t i l ized by the Buddhis ts thereas the leading f igure in their retal iat ion against the Taoists .Th i s movement r esu l t ed in the excava t ion o f the Sung tombsand was one of the great mistakes of Mongol ian ru le in China.In his Ch'o-ching lu (Vol . XII ) T 'ao Tsung-hsi wrote : "In theC h i h - yuan p e r i od [ 1264 - 1294 ] , t he B ud dh i s t m on ks becam eoverbear ing . [They] tu rned Tao i s t t emples in to Buddhis t monaster ies and shaved the Taois t pr ies ts . Also many great tombswere excavated." 4 4 However , in Chang Po-ch 'un ' s preface forth e Ta-yiian Chih-yuan pein-wei-lu it rec ord s qu ite differen t ly:

At that t ime, the General Director of Buddhis t Affa i rs onthe south of the Yangtze River , Master [Yang-] l ien-jenchai ,great ly cul t ivated saint l iness and in three years, f rom thespr ing of the twenty-second year of Chih-yuan [1285] to thesp r ing of the twe nty- fou r th year [1288 ] , rehab i l i ta ted m or et nan t h ir ty B uddh i s t m onas t e r i es . T h ose who ab an do ne dTaoism, and became monks were some seven o r e igh th u n d r e d p r e s o n s . 4 3As for the background of the key person, Yang- l ien-chen-

ch ia , the re is no in form at ion r eg ard ing w here he cam e f romor wh at sect he belo ng ed to. I f th e speculat ion is co rrec t thisques t ionab le mo nk m ust be a per son f rom the Chinese Yan gfamily who ad op ted the T ibe tan Bud dhis t nam e Rin-chendga h-ba . H ow ever , in the Chinese t r ad i t ion a m on k ra re ly pu this family name with his rel igious name. This problem st i l lnee ds fu r th er s tudy .The poli t ical mistake of the Mongols discussed above was

due to rel igious confl ict but also to a lack of understanding ofChinese h is tory on the par t of Mongol ian ru lers . As a resul t ,f rom the beginning to the end of the Mongol ian occupat ion ofChina, a wel l -balanced pol icy toward both Chinese Buddhismand Tao i sm was never fo r thcom ing .In the Buddhis t -Taois t s t ruggle , a l l sects of Buddhism, eventhose of Kash m ir and Tib et , jo i ne d in an a l liance against the

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Taois t s . Consequent ly , the Taois t Chuan-chen sec t , once sogrea t ly suppor ted by the Mongol ian cour t , co l lapsed a f te r thetwo grea t d eba tes . W i th the es tab l i shment of the Yuan Dynas tyin China, the Cheng-i sect headed by the t'ien-shih ("heavenlyins t ruc to r " ) , Chang Tsung-yen a s sumed the l eade r sh ip o fTaoism ins tead of Ch ' iu Ch 'u-ch i ' s Chuan-chen sec t . Othersects , such as the Chen-ta and Tai-i sects , gained influence atcourt , but they were not as inf luent ia l as the Cheng-i sect . Theway Khubi la i Khan t reated the t'ien-shih C h a n g T s u n g - y e n , e n t i t l ing him shen-hsien ("immortali ty") , was quite similar to hisg randfa the r , Ch ingg i s Khan ' s hand l ing o f Ch ' iu Ch 'u -ch i . The"shih-lao chuan" in the Yuan shih says:

After the pacification south of the [Yangtze] River [Emperor ] Shih- t su d i spa tched an envoy to summon [ the t'ien-shih]. At the audience , [ the Emperor ] sa id to h im, "Former lyin the year chi-wei [1259] , We came to O-tu [present west ofWu-chang] and sent Wang I-ch ' ing to vis i t your fa ther , [ thef o r m e r tien-shih]. Your fa ther repor ted to Us , say ing ,'Twenty years f rom now, the rea lm should be un i f ied . ' Thewords of the immor ta l have a l ready come to pass . " Consequent ly , [ the Emperor ] a l lowed [n im] to be sea ted anddine.4 , iThis was the same way Chinggis Khan fought h i s psycholog ica l war fa re th rough the p ropaganda o f t he Immor ta l Ch ' iu

Ch 'u -ch i . Whe the r o r no t t he honored t r ea tmen t o f t he Tao i s tCheng- i sec t by the Mongol ian cour t removed the ha t red in thehear t o f the Chinese people c rea ted by the misguided Mongolian rel igious policy should be carefully studied in the future.In genera l the Yuan Emperors t r ied to adopt a compara t ive lyevenhanded pol icy toward a l l re l ig ions under the i r cont ro l . Ofco ur se , th is ap pr oa ch w as based on the t rad i t iona l polytheis ticbe l ie fs , Shamanism. The Mongols p robably thought tha t thet e rm t'ien-shih, " the ins t ruc tor o f heaven ," had a s imi la r meaning to Teb-Tenggeri in Mongol ian . This might have been one ofthe fac tors tha t in te res ted the Mongol ian cour t in the Cheng-i sect.According to avai lable mater ia ls , such as the decrees collected in the Ta-Yiian sheng-cheng kuo-ch'ao tien-chang, b o t h B u d dhis t monks and the Taois t p r ies t s were t rea ted equa l ly . Atleast officially th e re is n o une qu al tr ea tm en t to be seen froman exam ina t ion of the laws. T h e "M on og ra ph of Off ic ia ls" in24


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the Yuan-shih, records that "The Ministry of Rituals administersthe affairs of worship, confers titles on godly persons and administers matters pertaining to the literati, monks andTaoist*."47 It continues: "The Hsilan-cheng Yuan has jurisdictionover Buddhist monks and [their] disciples, and rules the landof Tibet."48 This office was "headed by the State Instructor."49Thus the handling of Buddhist affairs was separated from theordinary civil administration and the monks were put underthe protection of a special powerful office headed by a Tibetanreligious leader. Locally, especially south of the Yangtze River,the Kuang chiao tsung-kuan-fu (the general director's office forpropagating religion) was established as a Buddhist administration. Later this office came under the Branch Office of theHsiian-chen Yuan in Hangchou. In addition to these organizations, a special office, Kung-te-shih ssu (the office of the emissaryfor meritorious affairs) was abolished and reestablished fromtime to time. All these administrations indicate that the Mongolian-Yuan court's concern for Buddhism was much moredeep than that for Taoism.

Carrying out religious services and building religious centerswere major activities for the believers of both Buddhism andTaoism. The activities were seen not only as blessings for thewelfare of their deceased ancestors but also as beneficial tothemselves and to society. The Mongolian authorities often required the religious organizations to pray for the long life ofthe Khan and for blessings for the state, in order to expresstheir loyalty. On the other hand, at court the monks, Taoistsand other religious groups were active in order to win the confidence and support of the Khan, and to gain such privilegesas exem ption from taxes and duties. In this situation both Buddhism and Taoism carried out the constructions of Buddhistmonasteries and Taoist temples unceasingly. This eventuallycreated a great finan cial deficit for the Yuan administration.

The Khans of the Yuan dynasty accepted Tantrayana Tibetan Buddhism as their religious belief and honored the masters of the Sa-skya-pa sect as their Imperial Instructions, andthus it promoted the development of Tantric Buddhism inChina. Tibetan Buddhism was accepted by the Mongolian nobility because of the cultural similarity between the Mongolsand the Tibetans. But it was rejected by the Chinese, especiallyby the intellectuals, because of the basic cultural difference be-25


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tween the Chinese and the T ibe tans . Consequent ly , mos tChinese mater ia l s on th i s subjec t a re one-s ided and based upontheir prejudices against an al ien cul ture. In fact , most ImperialIns t ruc tors mainly remained s i lent on s ta te af fa i r s , and wereordered not to be involved in pol i t ics . The case of Tibet wasan except ion. As a resul t of the excessive bel ief in Buddhismand the exorbi tant honor given to monks, many i l legal act ivi t iestook place among the clergy. Although this was not ent i relyneglec ted by the Yuan cour t , Chinese h is tor ians s t i l l commonlyclaimed that "half of the Yuan realm was destroyed by them on ks ." O f co urse th is is an exa gg era ted , subjec tive i n t er pr eta t ion of the Mongol ian ru le .

In short , the Mongol ian Khans ' select ion of their own rel i g ious fa ith was based u p o n th e i r own t radi t ional no m adic cul t u r e . Never the less , the i r a t t i tude and pol icy towards both Buddhism and Taoism in China gave r i se to many devia t ions inthe i r ad m inis t ra t ion . Th is migh t be a resul t of basic d i f ferencesa nd mi s unde r s t a nd i ngs be t w e e n noma d i c c u l t u r e a nd t ha t o fthe agr icul tura l wor ld of China .

N O T E S1. See F. W. (Heaves, "Teb Tenggeri ," Ural-Altaishe fahrbiicher, 39 (1967) ,

p p . 2 4 8 - 2 6 0 .2. Prince Kotan, son of Ogodei Khan, see Yiian-shih 107, 7a. T'u Chi in

his Meng-wu-erh shih-chi 37, wrote a brief biography of Kotan. See also JohnA ndrew B oyle , The Successors of Genghis Khan Rashid al-Din Tabib, New York,1971, p p . 2 0 - 2 1 .

3 . "Biography of Mu-hua- l i , " Yiian-shih 119.4 . A cco rdi ng to W estern recko nin g, Hai-yi in was only twelve.5. According to the "Biography of Mu-hua- l i , " the t i t le t'ai-shih kuo-ioang

was con fer red on h im by Ching gis K han in the year ting-ch'ou (1217) .6 . L an ch 'e ng , presen t -day Lan hsien , Shans i Province .7 . See N ien-ch 'ang, Fo-tsn li-tai tung-tsai, 2 1, 9a -1 la , 12 a-b .8. In No rth C hin a the Taoist rel igion was divid ed into thr ee sects , Ch iian -

chet i , Tai- i , and Chen-ta; on the south of the Yangtze River there were twosects , Ch eng - i an d Ma o-shan. Later there de velo ped f rom the Chen g- i sec ta branch known as Hsi ian-chiao . See a lso note 42 .

9 . Hsien-sheng is a general term for a learned person, such as s ir , teacher ,or mister, but it was also ap plie d to the Taoists. This w ord w as often misp r o n o u n c e d shing-shing in many M ongol ian and Tibetan mater ia ls .26


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10. Wang Kuo-wei , Meng-ku shih-liao ssu-rhung, Taipei , 1961, pp . 231233,and T ' ao Tsung- i , Ch'o-ching-lu, Taipei , 1962, Vol. 10, pp. 1 5 0 - 1 5 1 .

11. See the decrees of the Yuan emperors to the Buddhis ts and theTaoists that were collected in the Ta-Yuan sheng-cheng kuo-ch'ao tien-chang,rep r in ted by the Palace M useu m , Taipei, 1976.

12 . Wang Kuo-wei , p . 356.13 . The "Biography o f Chen-ha i " in the Yiiun-shih makes no ment ion o f

th is mat ter .14 . Wang Kuo-wei , p . 340.15. See the a t tached "Biography of the Son Hao-wen" to the "Biography

of Yuan Te-ming" in Chin-shih, 126.16. Y a o T su n g - w u , "Chih Yiian Ch'iian-chen-ch'iao ti min-tsu ssu-hiang yii

chiu-shih ssu-hsiang: (T he Nationalist ic: T h ou gh t and W orld Sa lvationThought of the Ch'i ian-chen sect at the Period of Chin and Yiian) . Tung-pei-shih lun-ts'ung, Taipei, 1959, Vol. 2, p. 262.

17. "Sh ih - l ao-chuang ," Yiiun-shih, 202 , 4b .18 . N i e n - c h ' a n g , 21 , 1 4 b - 1 5 a .19. See "Biography of Liu Fing-chung," Yiian-shih 157.2 0 . N i e n - c h ' a n g , 31 , 1 5 b - 1 6 b .2 1 . " B i o g r a p h y o f T i e h - k o ( l e g e ) , " Yiiun-shih 125, 13b.2 2 . Li Ch en-ch 'ang is an e r ron eo us r e fe rence to Li Ch ih -ch 'ang .2 3 . "Anna l s o f Hs ien- t sung ," Yiian-shih 3, 3a .2 4 . See the ent ry shih-lao (M on ks an d Taoists) of Vol. 6 of Li-pu , Ta-Yuan

sheng-cheng kuo-ch'ao tien-chang 3 3 , the Palace Mu seum edi t ion, Taipei 1976.25. See no te 21 .2 6 . Yao Ts un g-w u, "Ch ' iu Ch 'u-chi n ien-p u, ' in Tung-pei-shih lun-ts'ung,

p . 2 4 5 .2 7 . See no te 23 .2 8 . "Biography o f Chang Po-ch 'ung ," Yiian-shih 178.2 9. W ang Fu was a Taois t leader of Eastern Chin p er iod (3 16 -41 9) w ho

had fai led in his de ba te against the B ud dh ists.3 0 . Nien-ch 'ang , 21 , 39a-b .3 1 . The "ni ne schools" were the Co nfuc ian, Taoist , Na tural ist (yin-yang),

Legalist, Dialectician (ming), Mohist ( the fol lowers of Mo Tzu), the tsnng-heng(a school of poli t ical al l iances and strategies) , Agricultural ist , and others.

3 2 . Phags-pa was granted the t i t le Ti-shih, or Imper ia l Inst ructor , in thesixte enth year of Chi h-y uan (127 9), af ter (he nirvana of this great lam a.

3 3 . It was Tou Mo. See "B iog rap hy of To u M o," Yiian-shih 158.3 4 . I t was Yao Shu. See "Biography of Yao Shu," Yiian-shih 158.3 5 . I t was the U igh ur minis ter M eng-su-ssu . See "B iograp hy of M eng-su-ssu," Yiian-shih 124. He had been the jarghuchi and therefore he was cal led

by the Chinese ch'eng-hsiang, Premier .3 6. It was an oth er U igh ur Confucian scholarly minis ter, L ien Hsi -hsien ,

who was wel l -known as "Mencius" Lien (Lien Meng Tzu) .3 7 . It was C ha ng W en-ch ' ien . See "Biograph y of Ch an g W en-ch ' ien ."

Yiian-shih 157.3 8 . H si a n g - m a i , Chih-yiian pien-wei-Iu, Yangchou ts 'ang-ching-yuan, 1907

e d i t i o n , 4 , 2 0 b - 2 l a .27


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39. "Biography of Wang Pang," Yiian-shih 160.40. Hsiang-mai, 6, Ia-2b.41. Hjigs-med nam-mkhah, Chen-po hor-gyi-yul-du dam-paihi-chos ji-ltar-byun-bahi-tshul-bsad-pa rgyal-bahi-bstan-pa-rin-po-che gsal-bar-byed pahi-sgron-1819. The Japanese edition was translated by Koho Hashimoto and was published in Tokyo, 1940, under the title of Moko ramakyo sh i (the history ofMongolian Lamaism).42. This Chang T'ien-shih, the Heavenly Instructor Chang, was ChangTsung-yen, the Thirty-sixth tien-shih after Chang Tao-ling, the founder ofCheng-i t'ien-shih sect of Taoism.43 . Nien-ch'ang, 21 , 3 0a-3 1b. In this entry the re is ano ther record of animperial decree on the twelfth day of the twelfth month of the same year.44. Tao Tsung-i, p. 202. See note 10.45. Nien-ch'ang, 3, 40a-b.46. "Shih-lao Chuan," Yiian-shih 202, 1 la.47. The entry Li-pu (Ministry of Ritual), in the "Monograph of Officials,"I, Yiian-shih 85, 21a-b.48. The entry of Hsiian Cheng-yuan, in the "Monograph of Officials,"III, Yiian-shih 87, 8a.49. Ibid.

the mongol khans and chinese buddhism and taoism

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