Ionians"), were defeated by the Chinese in the
Han-Dayuan war. The Han victory in the
Han–Xiongnu War further secured the route from northern nomads of the
Eurasian Steppe
The Eurasian Steppe, also simply called the Great Steppe or the steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Transnistr ...
.
The transmission of Buddhism to China via the Silk Road started in the 1st century CE with a semi-legendary account of an embassy sent to the West by the Chinese Emperor
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...
(58–75 CE):
Extensive contacts however started in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the expansion of the
Greco-Buddhist Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, ...
into the Chinese territory of the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...
, with the missionary efforts of a great number of Central Asian Buddhist monks to Chinese lands. The first missionaries and translators of Buddhists scriptures into Chinese were either
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
n, Kushan,
Sogdian or
Kuchean
Kuchean (also known as Tocharian B or West Tocharian) was a Western member of Tocharian branch of Indo-European languages, extinct from ninth century. Once spoken in the Tarim Basin in Central Asia. Tocharian B shows an internal chronological d ...
.
Missionaries
In the middle of the 2nd century, the
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, ...
under king
Kaniṣka from its capital at Purushapura (modern
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
), India expanded into Central Asia. As a consequence, cultural exchanges greatly increased with the regions of
Kashgar,
Khotan and
Yarkand
Yarkant County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous ...
(all in the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...
, modern
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
). Central Asian Buddhist missionaries became active shortly after in the Chinese capital cities of
Loyang and sometimes
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...
, where they particularly distinguished themselves by their translation work. They promoted both Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna scriptures. Thirty-seven of these early translators of Buddhist texts are known.
*
An Shigao, a
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
n prince who made the first known translations of
Hīnayāna Buddhist texts into Chinese (148–170)
*
Lokakṣema, a
Kushan and the first to translate
Mahāyāna
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...
scriptures into Chinese (167–186)
*
An Xuan, a Parthian merchant who became a monk in China in 181
*
Zhi Yao (c. 185), a Kushan monk in the second generation of translators after Lokakṣema.
*
Zhi Qian (220–252), a Kushan monk whose grandfather had settled in China during 168–190
*
Kang Senghui (247–280), born in
Jiaozhi (or Chiao-chih) close to modern
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...
in what was then the extreme south of the Chinese empire, and a son of a Sogdian merchant
*
Dharmarakṣa
(, J. Jiku Hōgo; K. Ch’uk Pǒphom c. 233-310) was one of the most important early translators of Mahayana sutras into Chinese. Several of his translations had profound effects on East Asian Buddhism. He is described in scriptural catalogues ...
(265–313), a Kushan whose family had lived for generations at Dunhuang
*
Kumārajīva
Kumārajīva ( Sanskrit: कुमारजीव; , 344–413 CE) was a Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary and translator from the Kingdom of Kucha (present-day Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China). Kumārajīva is seen as one of the greates ...
(c. 401), a
Kuchean
Kuchean (also known as Tocharian B or West Tocharian) was a Western member of Tocharian branch of Indo-European languages, extinct from ninth century. Once spoken in the Tarim Basin in Central Asia. Tocharian B shows an internal chronological d ...
monk and one of the most important translators
*
Fotudeng
Fotudeng (Sanskrit: ''Buddhacinga?''; ) (ca. 232–348 CEBuswell, Robert. Lopez, Donald. ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism.'' 2013. p. 304) was a Buddhist monk and missionary from Kucha. He studied in Kashmir and came to Luoyang in 310 CE ...
(4th century), a Central Asian monk who became a counselor to the Chinese court
*
Bodhidharma (440–528), the founder of the
Chan
Chan may refer to:
Places
*Chan (commune), Cambodia
* Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada
People
*Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田)
*Chan Caldw ...
(
Zen) school of Buddhism. The debunked 17th century
apocryphal
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
story found in a manual called
Yijin Jing clained that he originated of the physical training of the
Shaolin monks that led to the creation of
Shaolin kung fu. This erroneous account only became popularized in the 20th century. According to the earliest reference to him, by
Yang Xuanzhi
Yang Xuanzhi () was a Chinese writer and translator of Mahayana Buddhist texts into the Chinese language, during the 6th century, under the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Yang wrote "The Monasteries of Luoyang" () in 547. This text relates the introduction ...
, he was a monk of
Central Asian
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the form ...
origin whom Yang Xuanshi met around 520 at Loyang. Throughout
Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as a rather ill-tempered, profusely bearded and wide-eyed barbarian. He is referred to as "The Blue-Eyed
Barbarian
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...
" (碧眼胡:Bìyǎn hú) in Chinese Chan texts.
* Five monks from Gandhāra who traveled in 485 CE to the country of
Fusang ("the country of the extreme east" beyond the sea, probably Japan), where they introduced Buddhism.
*
Jñānagupta (561–592), a monk and translator from Gandhāra
*
Prajñā (c. 810), a monk and translator from
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...
who educated the Japanese
Kūkai in Sanskrit texts
Additionally, Indian monks from central regions of India were also involved in the translation and spread of Buddhists texts into central and east Asia.
Among these Indian translators and monks include:
*
Dharmakṣema – 4th and 5th-century Buddhist monk from
Magadha
Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was rul ...
responsible for the translation of many Sanskrit texts in Chinese including the
Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra.
*
Dhyānabhadra – 14th-century monk from
Nalanda monastery who travelled to China and Korea during the period of the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
. Founded the Hoemsa temple in Korea.
*
Guṇabhadra – 5th-century Mahayana Buddhist translator from Central India who was active in China
*
Paramartha – 6th-century Indian monk and translator from
Ujjain
Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Uj ...
and patronised by
Emperor Wu of Liang
Early translations into Chinese
The first documented translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese occurs in 148 CE with the arrival of the
Parthian prince-turned-monk,
An Shigao (Ch. 安世高). He worked to establish Buddhist temples in
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...
and organized the translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, testifying to the beginning of a wave of Central Asian Buddhist proselytism that was to last several centuries. An Shigao translated Buddhist texts on basic doctrines,
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
and ''
abhidharma
The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...
''.
An Xuan (Ch. 安玄), a Parthian layman who worked alongside An Shigao, also translated an early Mahāyāna Buddhist text on the
bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
path.
Mahāyāna
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...
Buddhism was first widely propagated in China by the Kushan monk
Lokakṣema (Ch. 支婁迦讖, active ca. 164–186 CE), who came from the ancient Buddhist kingdom of
Gandhāra. Lokakṣema translated important Mahāyāna sūtras such as the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'', as well as rare, early Mahāyāna sūtras on topics such as ''
samādhi
''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...
'' and meditation on the buddha
Akṣobhya. These translations from Lokakṣema continue to give insight into the early period of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
By the 8th century CE, the School of Esoteric Buddhism became prominent in China due to the careers of two South Asian monks, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.
Vajrabodhi or Vajrabuddhi was the son of a Tamil aristocrat and is credited for bringing the theological developments from Bengal to East China. Buddhist scholar Lü Xiang, and lay disciple of Vajrabodhi writes about Vajrabodhi's accomplishments, including translating Buddhist texts such as ‘The Ritual for Practicing the Samadhi of Vairocana in the Yoga of the Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra’ etc.
Though Vajrabodhi is credited for bringing Esoteric Buddhism into China, it was his successor, Amoghavajra, who saw the firm establishment of Esoteric Buddhism as a school of thought in China. Amoghavajra was the son of a South Asian father and Sodigan mother and brought his learnings from Sri Lanka to practice in China. He too translated several texts but is mostly known for this prominent position in the Royal Tang Court. Ge performed several Esoteric rituals for the royals and also established a separate doctrine of Buddhism for the deity Manjusri.
Chinese pilgrims to India
From the 4th century onward, Chinese pilgrims also started to travel on the Silk Road to India, the origin of Buddhism, by themselves in order to get improved access to the original scriptures. According to Chinese sources, the first Chinese to be ordained was
Zhu Zixing, after he went to Central Asia in 260 to seek out Buddhism.
It is only from the 4th century CE that Chinese Buddhist monks started to travel to India to discover Buddhism first-hand.
Faxian's pilgrimage to India (395–414) is said to have been the first significant one. He left along the Silk Road, stayed six years in India, and then returned by the sea route.
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
(629–644) and
Hyecho traveled from Korea to India.
The most famous of the Chinese pilgrims is
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
(629–644), whose large and precise translation work defines a "new translation period", in contrast with older Central Asian works. He also left a detailed account of his travels in Central Asia and India. The legendary accounts of the holy priest Xuanzang were described in the famous novel ''Journey to the West'', which envisaged trials of the journey with demons but with the help of various disciples.
Role of merchants
During the fifth and sixth centuries C.E., merchants played a large role in the spread of religion, in particular Buddhism. Merchants found the moral and ethical teachings of Buddhism to be an appealing alternative to previous religions. As a result, merchants supported Buddhist monasteries along the Silk Roads. In return, the Buddhists gave the merchants somewhere to sojourn. Merchants then spread Buddhism to foreign encounters as they travelled. Merchants also helped to establish
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
within the communities they encountered and over time, their cultures were based on Buddhism. Because of this, these communities became centers of literacy and culture with well-organized marketplaces, lodging, and storage. The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism essentially ended around the 7th century with the invasion of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
in Central Asia.
By the 8th century, Buddhism began to be spread across Asia, largely by the influence of healers and wonder-workers. These groups of people practised a form of Buddhism that was to be called "
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
". This cult was influenced by the practice of
Tantra
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the India ...
in parts of India and would later go on to influence the East Asian society into adopting forms of Buddhism stemming from this core school of belief. This time, the transmission was happening via the sea routes.
Decline of Buddhism in Central Asia and Xinjiang
Buddhism in Central Asia began to decline in the 7th century in the course of the
Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. After the
Battle of Talas
The Battle of Talas or Battle of Artlakh (; ar, معركة نهر طلاس, translit=Maʿrakat nahr Ṭalās, Persian: Nabard-i Tarāz) was a military encounter and engagement between the Abbasid Caliphate along with its ally, the Tibetan Empi ...
of 751, Central Asian Buddhism went into serious decline and eventually resulted in the extinction of the local
Tocharian Buddhist culture in the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...
during the 8th century.
The increasing Muslim dominance of these Silk Roads made it more difficult for Buddhist monks and pilgrims to travel between India and China. The Silk Road ''transmission'' between
Eastern Buddhism and
Indian Buddhism eventually came to an end in the 8th century.
From the 9th century onward, therefore, the various schools of Buddhism which survived began to evolve independently of one another.
Chinese Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...
developed into an independent religion with distinct spiritual elements. Indigenous Buddhist traditions like
Pure Land Buddhism
Pure Land Buddhism (; ja, 浄土仏教, translit=Jōdo bukkyō; , also referred to as Amidism in English,) is a broad branch of Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Buddha's Buddha-field or Pure Land. It is one of the most wid ...
and
Zen emerged in China. China became the center of
East Asian Buddhism
East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed across East Asia which follow the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, an ...
, following the
Chinese Buddhist canon, as Buddhism spread to Japan and Korea from China. In the eastern Tarim Basin, Central Asian Buddhism survived into the later medieval period as the religion of the Uyghur
Qocho Kingdom
Qocho (), also known as Idiqut, ("holy wealth"; "glory"; "lord of fortune") was a Uyghur kingdom created in 843, with strong Chinese Buddhist and Tocharian influences. It was founded by Uyghur refugees fleeing the destruction of the Uyghur Kh ...
(see also
Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves), and Buddhism became one of the
religions in the Mongol Empire and the
Chagatai Khanate, and via the
Oirats
Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia.
Histor ...
eventually the religion of the
Kalmyks
The Kalmyks ( Kalmyk: Хальмгуд, ''Xaľmgud'', Mongolian: Халимагууд, ''Halimaguud''; russian: Калмыки, translit=Kalmyki, archaically anglicised as ''Calmucks'') are a Mongolic ethnic group living mainly in Russia, w ...
, who settled at the Caspian in the 17th century. Otherwise, Central Asian Buddhism survived mostly
in Tibet and
in Mongolia.
Artistic influences
Central Asian missionary efforts along the Silk Road were accompanied by a flux of artistic influences, visible in the development of
Serindian art from the 2nd to the 11th century CE in the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...
, modern
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
. Serindian art often derives from the art of the
Gandhāra district of what is now
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
Highly sinicized forms of
syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...
can also be found on the eastern portions of the Tarim Basin, such as in
Dunhuang. Silk Road artistic influences can be found as far as Japan to this day, in architectural motifs or representations of Japanese gods.
Southern transmission (from Sri Lanka)
The Buddhism transmitted to
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
is based on the
Tamrashatiya
The Tāmraśāṭīya (Sanskrit: ताम्रशाटीय, ), also called Tāmraparṇīya (Sanskrit; Pali: ''Tambapaṇṇiya'') was one of the early schools of Buddhism and a branch of the Vibhajyavāda school based in Sri Lanka. It is ...
school based in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, with translations from
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...
into languages like
Thai,
Burmese, etc. via the
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During ...
.
These later formed the basis of
Theravada Buddhism.
It is known as the Southern Transmission.
Chinese historiography of Buddhism
The ''
Book of the Later Han'' (5th century), compiled by
Fan Ye (398–446 CE), documented early
Chinese Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...
. This history records that around 65 CE, Buddhism was practiced in the courts of both
Emperor Ming of Han (r. 58–75 CE) at
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...
(modern
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...
); and his half-brother
King Ying (r. 41–70 CE) of
Chu at Pengcheng (modern
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...
). The Book of Han has led to discussions on whether Buddhism first arrived to China via maritime or overland transmission; as well as the origins of Buddhism in India or China.
Despite secular Chinese histories like the Book of Han dating the introduction of Buddhism in the 1st century, some Buddhist texts and traditions claim earlier dates in the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
(221–206 BCE) or
Former Han dynasty (208 BCE-9 CE).
Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE)
One story, first appearing in the (597 CE) ''Lidai sanbao ji'' 歷代三寶紀, concerns a group of Buddhist priests who arrived in 217 BCE at the capital of
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...
in
Xianyang
Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an m ...
(near
Xi'an). The monks, led by the
shramana Shilifang 室李防, presented sutras to the First Emperor, who had them put in jail:
The (668 CE) ''
Fayuan Zhulin'' Buddhist encyclopedia elaborates this legend with
Mauryan emperor
Ashoka the Great sending Shilifang to China. Like
Liang Qichao, some western historians believe Emperor Ashoka sent Buddhist missionaries to China, citing the (ca. 265)
13th Rock Edict that records missions to Greece,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
. Others disagree, "As far as we can gather from the inscriptions
shokawas ignorant of the very existence of China."
The Book of Han
The ''Book of the Later Han'' biography of
Liu Ying, the King of Chu, gives the oldest reference to Buddhism in Chinese historical literature. It says Ying was both deeply interested in
Huang-Lao 黄老 (from
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
and
Laozi) Daoism and "observed fasting and performed sacrifices to the Buddha."
[Zürcher (1972), p. 26.] Huang-Lao or Huanglaozi 黄老子 is the deification of Laozi, and was associated with ''
fangshi'' (方士) "technician; magician; alchemist" methods and ''
xian'' (仙) "transcendent; immortal" techniques.
"To Liu Ying and the Chinese devotees at his court the "Buddhist" ceremonies of fasting and sacrifices were probably no more than a variation of existing Daoist practices; this peculiar mixture of Buddhist and Daoist elements remains characteristic of Han Buddhism as a whole."
In 65 CE,
Emperor Ming decreed that anyone suspected of capital crimes would be given an opportunity for redemption, and King Ying sent thirty rolls of silk. The biography quotes Ming's edict praising his younger brother:
In 70 CE, King Ying was implicated in rebellion and sentenced to death, but Ming instead exiled him and his courtiers south to Danyang (
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...
), where Ying committed suicide in 71 CE. The Buddhist community at Pencheng survived, and around 193 CE, the warlord
Zhai Rong built a huge Buddhist temple, "which could contain more than three thousand people, who all studied and read Buddhist scriptures."
Second, Fan Ye's ''Book of Later Han'' quotes a "current" (5th-century) tradition that
Emperor Ming prophetically dreamed about a "golden man" Buddha. While "The Kingdom of Tianzhu" section (above) recorded his famous dream, the "Annals of Emperor Ming" history did not. Apocryphal texts give divergent accounts about the imperial envoys sent to India, their return with two Buddhist monks,
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
sutras (including ''
Sutra of Forty-two Chapters'') carried by white horses, and establishing the
White Horse Temple.
Maritime or overland transmission
Since the ''Book of Later Han'' present two accounts of how Buddhism entered Han China, generations of scholars have debated whether monks first arrived via the maritime or overland routes of the
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...
.
The maritime route hypothesis, favored by
Liang Qichao and
Paul Pelliot, proposed that Buddhism was originally introduced in southern China, the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
and
Huai River region, where King Ying of Chu was worshipping Laozi and Buddha c. 65 CE. The overland route hypothesis, favored by Tang Yongtong, proposed that Buddhism disseminated eastward through
Yuezhi and was originally practiced in western China, at the Han capital Luoyang where Emperor Ming established the White Horse Temple c. 68 CE.
The historian Rong Xinjiang reexamined the overland and maritime hypotheses through a multi-disciplinary review of recent discoveries and research, including the
Gandhāran Buddhist Texts
The Gandhāran Buddhist texts are the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered, dating from about the 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE. They represent the literature of Gandharan Buddhism from present-day northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afgh ...
, and concluded:
Origins of Buddhism
Fan Ye's Commentary noted that neither of the
Former Han
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...
histories–the (109–91 BCE) ''Records or the Grand Historian'' (which records
Zhang Qian visiting
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...
) and (111 CE) ''
Book of Han'' (compiled by
Ban Yong)–described Buddhism originating in India:
In the ''Book of Later Han'', "The Kingdom of Tianzhu" (天竺, Northwest India) section of "The Chronicle of the Western Regions" summarizes the origins of Buddhism in China. After noting Tianzhu envoys coming by sea through Rinan (日南, Central
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
) and presenting tribute to
Emperor He of Han (r. 89–105 CE) and
Emperor Huan of Han (r. 147–167 CE), it summarizes the first "hard evidence" about Prince Ying and the "official" story about Emperor Ming:
Contacts with Yuezhi
There is a Chinese tradition that in 2 BCE, a
Yuezhi envoy to the court of
Emperor Ai of Han transmitted one or more Buddhist sutras to a Chinese scholar. The earliest version derives from the lost (mid-3rd century) ''
Weilüe'', quoted in
Pei Songzhi
Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi, but he moved to the Jiangnan region late ...
's commentary to the (429 CE) ''
Records of Three Kingdoms
The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...
'': "the student at the imperial academy Jing Lu 景盧 received from Yicun 伊存, the envoy of the king of the Great Yuezhi oral instruction in (a) Buddhist sutra(s)."
Since Han histories do not mention Emperor Ai having contacts with the Yuezhi, scholars disagree whether this tradition "deserves serious consideration", or can be "reliable material for historical research".
The dream of Emperor Ming
Many sources recount the "pious legend" of
Emperor Ming dreaming about
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
, sending envoys to Yuezhi (on a date variously given as 60, 61, 64 or 68 CE), and their return (3 or 11 years later) with sacred texts and the first Buddhist missionaries,
Kāśyapa Mātanga (Shemoteng 攝摩騰 or Jiashemoteng 迦葉摩騰) and
Dharmaratna (Zhu Falan 竺法蘭). They translated the "Sutra in Forty-two Sections" into Chinese, traditionally dated 67 CE but probably later than 100. The emperor built the
White Horse Temple (Baimasi 白馬寺) in their honor, the first Buddhist temple in China, and Chinese Buddhism began. All accounts of Emperor Ming's dream and Yuezhi embassy derive from the anonymous (middle 3rd-century) introduction to the ''
Sutra of Forty-two Chapters''. For example, the (late 3rd to early 5th-century) ''
Mouzi Lihuolun
The ''Mouzi Lihuolun'' () is a classic Chinese Buddhist text. It comprises a purportedly autobiographical preface by Master Mou, a late 2nd-century Confucian scholar-official who converted to Buddhism, and an imaginary dialogue of questions and an ...
'' says,
Academics disagree over the historicity of Emperor Ming's dream but
Tang Yongtong sees a possible nucleus of fact behind the tradition.
Emperor Wu and the Golden Man
The ''Book of Han'' records that in 121 BCE,
Emperor Wu of Han sent general
Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – 117 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was the nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and the half-broth ...
to attack the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...
. Huo defeated the people of prince Xiutu 休屠 (in modern-day
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibe ...
) and "captured a golden (or gilded) man used by the King of Hsiu-t'u to worship Heaven." Xiutu's son was taken prisoner, but eventually became a favorite retainer of Emperor Wu and was granted the name
Jin Midi, with his surname Jin (Chinese surname), Jin 金 "gold" supposedly referring to the "golden man." The golden statue was later moved to the Yunyang 雲陽 Temple, near the royal summer palace Ganquan 甘泉 (modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). The golden man has been demonstrated to be a three meters high colossal golden statue of Zeus holding a goddess by Lucas Christopoulos.
The (c. 6th century) ''A New Account of the Tales of the World'' claims this golden man was more than ten feet high, and
Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BCE) sacrificed to it in the Ganquan 甘泉 palace, which "is how Buddhism gradually spread into (China)."
Transmission to Korea
Centuries after History of Buddhism in India, Buddhism originated in India, the
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...
Buddhism Chinese Buddhism, arrived in China through the Silk Route in 1st century CE via Tibet, then to Korean peninsula in 3rd century during the Three Kingdoms of Korea, Three Kingdoms Period from where it Buddhism in Japan, transmitted to Japan.
[ The Samguk yusa and Samguk Sagi, Samguk sagi record the following 3 monks who were among the first to bring Buddhist teaching, or Dharma, to Korea in the 4th century during the Three Kingdoms of Korea, Three Kingdoms period: Malananta – an Indian Buddhist monk who came from either Serindian area of southern China's Jin dynasty (265–420), Eastern Jin dynasty or Gandhara region of northern Indian subcontinent and brought Buddhism to the King Chimnyu of Baekje, Chimnyu of Baekje in the southern Korea, Korean peninsula in 384 CE, Shandao, Sundo – a monk from northern Chinese state Former Qin brought Buddhism to Goguryeo in northern Korea in 372 CE, and Ado (monk), Ado – a monk who brought Buddhism to Silla in central Korea.][, pg. 71] In Korea, it was adopted as the state religion of 3 constituent polities of the Three Kingdoms Period, first by the Goguryeo (Geumgwan Gaya, Gaya) in 372 CE, by the Silla in 528 CE, and by the Baekje in 552 CE.[Lee Injae, Owen Miller, Park Jinhoon, Yi Hyun-Hae, 2014, Korean History in Maps, Cambridge University Press, pp. 44–49, 52–60.] As Buddhism was not seen to conflict with the Korean shamanism, local rites of nature worship, it was allowed by adherents of Shamanism to be blended into their religion. Thus, the mountains that were believed by shamanists to be the residence of spirits in pre-Buddhist times later became the sites of Buddhist temples.
Though it initially enjoyed wide acceptance, even being supported as the state ideology during the Goryeo (918–1392 CE) period, Buddhism in Korea suffered extreme repression during the Joseon (1392–1897 CE) era, which lasted over five hundred years. During this period, Neo-Confucianism overcame the prior dominance of Buddhism. Only after Buddhist monks helped repel the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98) did the persecution of Buddhists stop. Buddhism in Korea remained subdued until the end of the Joseon period, when its position was strengthened somewhat by the colonial period, which lasted from 1910 to 1945. However, these Buddhist monks did not only put an end to Japanese rule in 1945, but they also asserted their specific and separate religious identity by reforming their traditions and practices. They laid the foundation for many Buddhist societies, and the younger generation of monks came up with the ideology of ''Mingung Pulgyo'', or "Buddhism for the people." The importance of this ideology is that it was coined by the monks who focused on common men's daily issues. After World War II, the Seon school of Korean Buddhism once again gained acceptance.
A 2005 government survey indicated that about a quarter of South Koreans identified as Buddhist.[According to figures compiled by the South Korean National Statistical Office (South Korea), National Statistical Office.] However, the actual number of Buddhists in South Korea is ambiguous as there is no exact or exclusive criterion by which Buddhists can be identified, unlike the Christian population. With Buddhism's incorporation into traditional Korean culture, it is now considered a philosophy and cultural background rather than a formal religion. As a result, many people outside of the practicing population are deeply influenced by these traditions. Thus, when counting secular believers or those influenced by the faith while not following other religions, the number of Buddhists in South Korea is considered to be much larger. Similarly, in officially atheist North Korea, while Buddhists officially account for 4.5% of the population, a much larger number (over 70%) of the population are influenced by Buddhist philosophies and customs.
North Korea, about.com
See also
*
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During ...
& Early Buddhist texts
*
Gandhāran Buddhist Texts
The Gandhāran Buddhist texts are the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered, dating from about the 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE. They represent the literature of Gandharan Buddhism from present-day northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afgh ...
*Southern, Eastern and Northern Buddhism
*
Sarvastivada
The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosop ...
*
Tamrashatiya
The Tāmraśāṭīya (Sanskrit: ताम्रशाटीय, ), also called Tāmraparṇīya (Sanskrit; Pali: ''Tambapaṇṇiya'') was one of the early schools of Buddhism and a branch of the Vibhajyavāda school based in Sri Lanka. It is ...
*Buddhism in Southeast Asia
*Buddhism in East Asia
*
Chinese Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...
*Great Tang Records on the Western Regions
* Wang ocheonchukguk jeon
*Index of Buddhism-related articles
Notes
References
Sources
*Paul Demieville, Demieville, Paul (1986). "Philosophy and Religion from Han to Sui", in ''The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC. – AD. 220''. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge University Press. Pp. 808–873.
*Draper, Gerald (1995)
The contribution of the Emperor Asoka Maurya to the development of the humanitarian ideal in warfare ''International Review of the Red Cross'', No. 305.
*Dubs, Homer H. (1937)
The "Golden Man" of Former Han Times ''T'oung Pao'' 33.1: 1–14.
* Hill, John E. (2009) ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. .
*
*Loewe, Michael (1986). "The Religious and Intellectual Background", in ''The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC. – AD. 220'', 649–725. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge University Press.
*
*Saunders, Kenneth J. (1923). "Buddhism in China: A Historical Sketch", ''The Journal of Religion'', Vol. 3.2, pp. 157–169; Vol. 3.3, pp. 256–275.
*
*Whitfield, Roderick, Susan Whitfield, Whitfield, Susan, and Agnew, Neville (2000)
Cave temples of Mogao: art and history on the silk road Getty Publications.
*Williams, Paul (2005)
''Buddhism: Buddhist origins and the early history of Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia'' Taylor & Francis.
*Zürcher, Erik (2007)
''The Buddhist Conquest of China'' 3rd ed. Leiden. E. J. Brill. 1st ed. 1959, 2nd ed. 1972.
*Zürcher, E. (1990). "Han Buddhism and the Western Region", in ''Thought and Law in Qin and Han China: Studies Dedicated to Anthony Hulsewe on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday'', ed by W.L. Idema and E. Zurcher, Brill, pp. 158–182.
Further reading
* Christoph Baumer, ''China's Holy Mountain: An Illustrated Journey into the Heart of Buddhism''. I.B.Tauris, London 2011.
* Richard Foltz, ''Religions of the Silk Road'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2nd edition, 2010,
* Sally Hovey Wriggins, ''The Silk Road Journey with Xuanzang'', Westview Press, 2004,
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