FOOTNOTES:
[591] See B.E.F.E.O. 1910, Le Songe et l'Ambassade de l'Empereur Ming Ti, par M. H. Maspéro, where the original texts are translated and criticized. It is a curious coincidence that Ptolemy Soter is said to have introduced the worship of Serapis to Egypt from Sinope in consequence of a dream.
No doubt then pronounced something like Vut-tha.
[599] See Chavannes, Les documents Chinois découverts par Aurel Stein, 1913, Introduction. The earliest documents are of 98 B.C.
[600] The Wei-lüeh or Wei-lio
composed between 239 and 265 A.D., no longer exists as a complete work, but a considerable extract from it dealing with the countries of the West is incorporated in the San Kuo Chih
of P'ei-Sung-Chih
(429 A.D.). See Chavannes, translation and notes in T'oung Pao, 1905, pp. 519-571.
See Chavannes, l.c. p. 550.
[602] See Francke, Zur Frage der Einführung des Buddhismus in China, 1910, and Maspéro's review in B.E.F.E.O. 1910, p. 629. Another Taoist legend is that Dipankara Buddha or Jan Têng, described as the teacher of Śâkyamuni was a Taoist and that Śâkyamuni visited him in China. Giles quotes extracts from a writer of the eleventh century called Shên Kua to the effect that Buddhism had been flourishing before the Ch'in dynasty but disappeared with its advent and also that eighteen priests were imprisoned in 216 B.C. But the story adds that they recited the Prajnâpâramitâ which is hardly possible at that epoch.
[603] Sam. Nik. v. 10. 6. Cf. for a similar illustration in Chuang-tzŭ, S.B.E. XL. p. 126.
[604] I may say, however, that I think it is a compilation containing very ancient sayings amplified by later material which shows Buddhist influence. This may be true to some extent of the Essays of Chuang-tzŭ as well.
[605] See Legge's translation in S.B.E. Part I. pp. 176, 257, II. 46, 62; ib. I. pp. 171, 192, II. 13; ib. II. p. 13; ib. II. p. 9, I. p. 249; ib. pp. 45, 95, 100, 364, II. p. 139; ib. II. p. 139; ib. II. p. 129.
[606] Ib. I. p. 202; cf. the Buddha's conversation with Vaccha in Maj. Nik. 72.
[607] Kumârajîva and other Buddhists actually wrote commentaries on the Tao-Tê-Ching.
It speaks, however, in section 36 of being born in the condition or family of a Bodhisattva (P'u-sa-chia), where the word seems to be used in the late sense of a devout member of the Buddhist Church.
[609] But the Emperor Huan is said to have sacrificed to Buddha and Lao-tzŭ. See Hou Han Shu in T'oung Pao, 1907, p. 194. For early Buddhism see "Communautés et Moines Bouddhistes Chinois au II et au III siècles," by Maspéro in B.E.F.E.O. 1910, p. 222. In the second century lived Mou-tzŭ
a Buddhist author with a strong spice of Taoism. His work is a collection of questions and answers, somewhat resembling the Questions of Milinda. See translation by Pelliot (in T'oung Pao, vol. XIX. 1920) who gives the date provisionally as 195 A.D.
[610] Accounts of these and the later translators are found in the thirteen catalogues of the Chinese Tripitaka (see Nanjio, p. xxvii) and other works such as the Kao Sang-Chuan (Nanjio, No. 1490).
He worked at translations in Loyang 148-170.
[612] Dharmakâla, see Nanjio, p. 386. The Vinaya used in these early days of Chinese Buddhism was apparently that of the Dharmagupta school. See J.A. 1916, II. p. 40. An Shih-kao (c. A.D. 150) translated a work called The 3000 Rules for Monks (Nanjio, 1126), but it is not clear what was the Sanskrit original.
He was a remarkable man and famous in his time, for he was credited not only with clairvoyance and producing rain, but with raising the dead. Rémusat's account of him, based on the Tsin annals, may still be read with interest. See Nouv. Mélanges Asiatiques, II. 1829, pp. 179 ff. His biography is contained in chap. 95 of the Tsin
annals.
Died 363 A.D.
[618] Ts'in
must be distinguished from Tsin
the name of three short but legitimate dynasties.
[621] See Nanjio, Catalogue, p. 406.
For this title see Pelliot in T'oung Pao, 1911, p. 671.
He was canonized under the name of Wu
and the three great persecutions of Buddhism are sometimes described as the disasters of the three Wu, the others being Wu of the North Chou dynasty (574) and Wu of the T'ang (845).
For the 25 pilgrims see Nanjio, p. 417.
See Chavannes, "Voyage de Song Yun dans l'Udyâna et le Gandhâra, 518-522," p. E in B.E.F.E.O. 1903, pp. 379-441. For an interesting account of the Dowager Empress see pp. 384-5.
[633] See chap. XXIII. p. 95, and chap. XLV below (on schools of Chinese Buddhism), for more about Bodhidharma. The earliest Chinese accounts of him seem to be those contained in the Liang and Wei annals. But one of the most popular and fullest accounts is to be found in the Wu Têng Hui Yüan (first volume) printed at Kushan near Fuchow.
[634] His portraits are also frequent both in China and Japan (see Ostasiat. Ztsft 1912, p. 226) and the strongly marked features attributed to him may perhaps represent a tradition of his personal appearance, which is entirely un-Chinese. An elaborate study of Bodhidharma written in Japanese is noticed in B.E.F.E.O. 1911, p. 457.
[636] The legend does not fit in well with chronology since Sung-Yün is said to have returned from India in 522.
[637] See Takakusu in J.R.A.S. 1905, p. 33.
[638] Mailla, Hist. Gén. de la Chine, p. 369.
[641] See Biot, Hist, de l'instruction publique en Chine, pp. 289, 313.
Is celebrated in Chinese history as one of the greatest opponents of Buddhism. He collected all the objections to it in 10 books and warned his son against it on his death bed. Giles, Biog. Dict. 589.
An important minister and apparently a man of talent but of ungovernable and changeable temper. In 639 he obtained the Emperor's leave to become a priest but soon left his monastery. The Emperor ordered him to be canonized under the name Pure but Narrow. Giles, Biog. Dict. 722. The monk Fa-Lin
also attacked the views of Fu I in two treatises which have been incorporated in the Chinese Tripitaka. See Nanjio, Cat. Nos. 1500, 1501.
[644] Subsequently a story grew up that his soul had visited hell during a prolonged fainting fit after which he recovered and became a devout Buddhist. See chap. XI of the Romance called Hsi-yu-chi, a fantastic travesty of Hsüan Chuang's travels, and Wieger, Textes Historiques, p. 1585.
This name has been transliterated in an extraordinary number of ways. See B.E.F.E.O. 1905, pp. 424-430. Giles gives Hsüan Chuang in his Chinese Dictionary, but Hsüan Tsang in his Biographical Dictionary. Probably the latter is more correct. Not only is the pronunciation of the characters variable, but the character
was tabooed as being part of the Emperor K'ang Hsi's personal name and
substituted for it. Hence the spelling Yüan Chuang.
See Vincent Smith, Early History of India, pp. 326-327, and Giles, Biog. Dict., s.v. Wang Hsüan-T'sê. This worthy appears to have gone to India again in 657 to offer robes at the holy places.
Some of the principal statues in the caves of Lung-men were made at her expense, but other parts of these caves seem to date from at least 500 A.D. Chavannes, Mission Archéol. tome I, deuxième partie.
Ta-Yün-Ching. See J.A. 1913, p. 149. The late Dowager Empress also was fond of masquerading as Kuan-yin but it does not appear that the performance was meant to be taken seriously.
[649] "That romantic Chinese reign of Genso (713-756) which is the real absolute culmination of Chinese genius." Fenollosa, Epochs of Chinese and Japanese art I. 102.
The meaning of this name appears to vary at different times. At this period it is probably equivalent to Kapisa or N.E. Afghanistan.
[654] See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 161. This does not exclude the possibility of an opposite current, viz. Chinese Buddhism flowing into Burma.
[655] Wu-Tsung, 841-847.
[656] "Liu-Tsung-Yuan has left behind him much that for purity of style and felicity of expression has rarely been surpassed," Giles, Chinese Literature, p. 191.
[657] Apparently in 783 A.D. See Waddell's articles on Ancient Historical Edicts at Lhasa in J.R.A.S. 1909, 1910, 1911.
[660] See Eitel, Handbook of Chinese Buddhism, p. 185 s.v. Ullambana, a somewhat doubtful word, apparently rendered into Chinese as Yü-lan-p'ên.
[661] Sec Nanjio Catalogue, pp. 445-448.
[662] He is also said to have introduced the images of the Four Kings which are now found in every temple. A portrait of him by Li Chien is reproduced in Tajima's Masterpieces, vol. viii, plate ix. The artist was perhaps his contemporary.
[663] E.g. Sacki, The Nestorian Monument in China, 1916. See also above, p. 217.
[664] See Khuddaka-Patha, 7; Peta Vatthu, 1, 5 and the commentary; Milinda Panha, iv. 8, 29; and for modern practices my chapter on Siam, and Copleston, Buddhism, p. 445.
Some native critics, however, have doubted the authenticity of the received text and the version inserted in the Official History seems to be a summary. See Wieger, Textes Historiques, vol. iii. pp. 1726 ff., and Giles, Chinese Literature, pp. 200 ff.
[666] The officials whose duty it was to remonstrate with the Emperor if he acted wrongly.
[667] Giles, Chinese Literature, pp. 201, 202—somewhat abbreviated.
[668] See Wieger, Textes Historiques, vol. III. pp. 1744 ff.
[669] "Thousands of ten-thousands of Ch'ing." A Ch'ing = 15.13 acres.
[670] Presumably similar to the temple slaves of Camboja, etc.
[671] One Emperor of this epoch, Shih-Tsung of the later Chou dynasty, suppressed monasteries and coined bronze images into currency, declaring that Buddha, who in so many births had sacrificed himself for mankind, would have no objection to his statues being made useful. But in the South Buddhism nourished in the province of Fukien under the princes of Min
and the dynasty which called itself Southern T'ang.
See Kokka No. 309, 1916.
[674] The decrease in translations is natural for by this time Chinese versions had been made of most works which had any claim to be translated.
[675] See Biot, L'instruction publique en Chine, p. 350.
[677] See Le Gall, Variétés Sinologiques, No. 6 Tchou-Hi: Sa doctrine Son influence. Shanghai, 1894, pp. 90, 122.
Compare the similar doctrines of Wang Yang-Ming.
[679] E.g. his elder brother Mangku who showed favour to Buddhists, Mohammedans and Nestorians alike. He himself wished to obtain Christian teachers from the Pope, by the help of Marco Polo, but probably merely from curiosity.
[680] More accurately hPhags-pa. It is a title rather than a name, being the Tibetan equivalent of Arya. Khubilai seems to be the correct transcription of the Emperor's name. The Tibetan and Chinese transcriptions are Hvopilai and Hu-pi-lieh.
[681] For this curious work see B.E.F.E.O. 1908, p. 515, and J.A. 1913, I, pp. 116-132. For the destruction of Taoist books see Chavannes in T'oung Pao, 1904, p. 366.
[682] At the present day an ordinary Chinese regards a Lama as quite different from a Hoshang or Buddhist monk.
[683] The Yüan Emperors were no doubt fond of witnessing religious theatricals in the Palace. See for extracts from Chinese authors, New China Review, 1919, pp. 68 ff. Compare the performances of the T'ang Emperor Su Tsung mentioned above.
[684] For the ecclesiastical abuses of the time see Köppen, II. 103, and de Mailla, Histoire de la Chine, IX. 475, 538.
[685] See Wieger, Textes Historiques, III. p. 2013, and De Groot, Sectarianism and Religious Persecution in China, I. p. 82. He is often called Hung Wu which is strictly speaking the title of his reign. He was certainly capable of changing his mind, for he degraded Mencius from his position in Confucian temples one year and restored him the next.
[686] See de Mailla, Histoire de la Chine, IX. p. 470.
[687] Often called Yung-Lo which is strictly the title of his reign.
[689] See Nanjio, Cat. 1613-16.
[690] See Beal, Catena of Buddhist Scriptures, p. 398. The Emperor says: "So we, the Ruler of the Empire ... do hereby bring before men a mode for attaining to the condition of supreme Wisdom. We therefore earnestly exhort all men ... carefully to study the directions of this work and faithfully to follow them."
[691] Nanjio, Cat. 1620. See also ib. 1032 and 1657 for the Empress's sûtra.
[692] Or Kalima
In Tibetan Karma de bshin gshegs-pa. He was the fifth head of the Karma-pa school. See Chandra Das's dictionary, s.v., where a reference is given to kLong-rdol-gsung-hbum. It is noticeable that the Karma-pa is one of the older and more Tantric sects.
Yüan Shih K'ai prefixed to this latter the four characters
[694] See Yule, Cathay and the Way Thither, pp. 75 ff.
[695] When Ying Tsung was carried away by the Mongols in 1449 his brother Ching-Ti was made Emperor. Though Ying Tsung was sent back in 1450, he was not able to oust Ching-Ti from the throne till 1457.
His real name was Wang Shou Jên
[699] Though the ecclesiastical study of Sanskrit decayed under the Ming dynasty, Yung-lo founded in 1407 a school of language for training interpreters at which Sanskrit was taught among other tongues.
[702] De Groot, l.c. p. 93.
[703] Some authorities say that he became a monk before he died, but the evidence is not good. See Johnston in New China Review, Nos. 1 and 2, 1920.
[704] See T'oung Pao, 1909, p. 533.
[705] See E. Ludwig, The visit of the Tcshoo Lama to Peking, Tien Tsin Press, 1904.
[706] The Ta-yün-lung-ch'ing-yü-ching. Nanjio's Catalogue, Nos. 187-8, 970, and see Beal, Catena of Buddhist Scriptures, pp. 417-9.
[707] See for an account of his visit "The Dalai Lamas and their relations with the Manchu Emperor of China" in T'oung Pao, 1910, p. 774.
CHAPTER XLIV
CHINA (continued)
The Canon
The Buddhist scriptures extant in the Chinese language are known collectively as San Tsang[708] or the three store-houses, that is to say, Tripitaka. Though this usage is justified by both eastern and European practice, it is not altogether happy, for the Chinese thesaurus is not analogous to the Pali Canon or to any collection of sacred literature known in India, being in spite of its name arranged in four, not in three, divisions. It is a great Corpus Scriptorum Sanctorum, embracing all ages and schools, wherein translations of the most diverse Indian works are supplemented by original compositions in Chinese. Imagine a library comprising Latin translations of the Old and New Testaments with copious additions from the Talmud and Apocryphal literature; the writings of the Fathers, decrees of Councils and Popes, together with the opera omnia of the principal schoolmen and the early protestant reformers and you will have some idea of this theological miscellany which has no claim to be called a canon, except that all the works included have at some time or other received a certain literary or doctrinal hall-mark.