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Empresses, Bhikṣuṇῑs, and Women of Pure Faith

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Empresses, Bhikṣuṇῑs, and Women of Pure Faith EMPRESSES, BHIKṢUṆῙS, AND WOMEN OF PURE FAITH EMPRESSES, BHIKṢUṆῙS, AND WOMEN OF PURE FAITH: BUDDHISM AND THE POLITICS OF PATRONAGE IN THE NORTHERN WEI By STEPHANIE LYNN BALKWILL, B.A. (High Honours), M.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University © by Stephanie Lynn Balkwill, July 2015 McMaster University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (2015) Hamilton, Ontario (Religious Studies) TITLE: Empresses, Bhikṣuṇīs, and Women of Pure Faith: Buddhism and the Politics of Patronage in the Northern Wei AUTHOR: Stephanie Lynn Balkwill, B.A. (High Honours) (University of Regina), M.A. (McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Dr. James Benn NUMBER OF PAGES: x, 410. ii ABSTRACT This dissertation is a study of the contributions that women made to the early development of Chinese Buddhism during the Northern Wei Dynasty 北魏 (386–534 CE). Working with the premise that Buddhism was patronized as a necessary, secondary arm of government during the Northern Wei, the argument put forth in this dissertation is that women were uniquely situated to play central roles in the development, expansion, and policing of this particular form of state-sponsored Buddhism due to their already high status as a religious elite in Northern Wei society. Furthermore, in acting as representatives and arbiters of this state-sponsored Buddhism, women of the Northern Wei not only significantly contributed to the spread of Buddhism throughout East Asia, but also, in so doing, they themselves gained increased social mobility and enhanced social status through their affiliation with the new, foreign, and wildly popular Buddhist tradition. Throughout the dissertation, stories of empresses, concubines, female bureaucrats, lay devotees, and female members of the Buddhist monastic institution will be studied in order to show the unique connections between women and the Buddhist tradition under the Northern Wei and also to reveal the diversity of roles that they played in the administration of a court-sponsored, imperial Buddhist tradition. In bringing these stories to light, this dissertation will utilize biographical material from the dynastic history of the Northern Wei as well as from a number of previously unstudied epigraphs. Additionally, other forms of inscriptional, religious, and secular materials will be widely consulted in this exploration of the lives of Buddhist women at a time when Buddhism was becoming a state religion in a powerful and ambitious dynasty – the Northern Wei. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There is no place I would have rather spent the last six years of my life than at the Department of Religious Studies at McMaster University where I have been encouraged and supported by every single person involved in the program. Specifically, I owe a debt of gratitude to our administrators – Doreen, Sheryl, and Jennifer – as a great part of my success is certainly due to their hard work. A special thanks is also owed to my many colleagues in the Asian field, a number of which deserve individual mention: to Dan, Randy, Kim, Adrian, and Yongshan, thank you for the beers and breakfasts, the skypes and the support, the laughter and even a few tears. Dr. Shayne Clarke and Dr. Mark Rowe also need thanked for having been wonderful teachers who I will always look to as models of exemplary scholars and persons. Dr. James Benn has been my touchstone over years and miles, and I cannot thank him enough for the thousands of emails and countless e-meetings, as well as for guiding my research interests and fielding all the paperwork that my activities have undoubtedly sent his way. Outside of McMaster University, I have also benefitted from the support of numerous institutions and individuals. Dr. Yuan Ren at the University of Regina has been a friend and mentor for more than fifteen years and provided my introduction to Beijing. In Beijing, it was Dr. Valerie Hansen from Yale University who introduced me to many archaeological sites around the city and showed me how to navigate the offices of Peking University. Dr. Wang Ping and Dr. Guo Rui at the Center for Chinese Character Studies at East China Normal University not only made many inscriptions available to me in digital form, but also helped me to read them and understand their context. At Academia iv Sinica in Taipei, Dr. Lee Jen-der provided invaluable support to this dissertation by correcting my translations of difficult epigraphical material that would have otherwise stood out as glaring mistakes in my work. In Los Angeles, Dr. Gregory Schopen was thoughtful enough to procure for me a UCLA library card in his own name and Dr. Lori Meeks at the University of Southern California has supported what has been a successful application for a postdoctoral position at her own institution. Dr. Chen Jinhua at the University of British Colombia provided insightful comments on a draft of an article that has also aided this dissertation. Beyond these named individuals there are a number of other scholars in the field who have answered my queries, provided feedback on papers and ideas, and have been energetic supporters of me and my work. I thank you all. My doctoral research would not have been possible if not for the financial support of many generous benefactors, which include: the School of Graduate Studies at McMaster University, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion, the Sheng-Yen Lu and True Buddha Foundations, the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, the Center for Chinese Studies at the National Library of Taiwan, the Robert Ho Family Foundation in Buddhist Studies, and the American Council of Learned Societies. The support of these agencies has not only allowed me to engage in what I hope to be innovative research, but also to live an inspiring life while so doing. I only hope that my work makes them proud. Although I do not see them enough, my family has been my constant gift in this life. To Bev, Blair, Tina, Logan, Micheala, Morgan, and Ethan: thank you for always v being curious about what I am doing, for coming to China, for going to museums, and for listening to my endless chatter. Equally, for those friends who have become family – Meagan, Nathan, Émilie, Marcella, Sarah, Lily, Hisako – my thanks to you all can never be repaid, though I will always endeavour to try. To Diego, my friend with whom I have now made a family: thank you for never tiring of the Northern Wei, for accompanying me to far-flung places and suggesting even farther ones, and for the historical and philological aptitude that you so generously share with me. Lastly, this thesis is dedicated to two women who are not here at present: for Remedios, who will be arriving so soon; and for Camilla, who left too soon. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 The What’s and Why’s of the Northern Wei 4 Beyond the Northern Wei: The Wider Context for this Dissertation 12 Sources for the Study of the Northern Wei 19 Chapter Summary 23 The Scholarly Context 26 CHAPTER ONE. TUOBAS, MANDARINS, AND BUDDHAS: IMPERIAL BUDDHISM IN THE NORTHERN WEI 35 A Bit More About the Tuoba 37 Tuoba Leadership and Dynastic Legitimation 44 Adding Buddhism to the Mix 51 The Adoption of Buddhism as a Social Imperative in the North 64 The Adoption of Buddhism as a Defensive Strategy in the Northern Wei 78 Conclusion 87 CHAPTER TWO. A BUDDHIST GYNAECEUM: OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN A HYBRID TUOBA-HAN-BUDDHIST COURT STRUCTURE 94 Known to us in Death: Epigraphs of Court Men and Court Women from the Northern Wei 95 Buddhism and the Representation of Court Women 107 On the Status of Women in Northern Society 116 Depictions of Northern Women in Inscriptional Materials 124 Women of the Northern Wei: A Sino-Tuoba Negotiation 129 Northern Women as a Religious Elite 134 Conclusion 142 CHAPTER THREE. BUILDING AN IMPERIAL BUDDHISM WITH WOMEN AT THE HELM: EMPRESS DOWAGER FENG AND EMPRESS DOWAGER HU 146 Classical Notions of Chinese Rule: The Son of Heaven 147 The Biography of Empress Dowager Feng 150 The Buddhism of Empress Dowager Feng 165 The Biography of Empress Dowager Hu 175 The Buddhism of Empress Dowager Hu 178 Buddhist Rule a Useful Paradigm for Female Rulers? 186 Conclusion 200 vii CHAPTER FOUR. THE THREE FOLLOWINGS AND THE THREE JEWELS: IMPERIAL BHIKṢUṆĪS 202 On the Physical Proximity between the Court and the Women’s Saṃgha 204 Permeable Boundaries and Social Mobility 207 Widowed and Deposed Women at the Imperially-Sponsored Jade Sparkle Nunnery 213 Renunciation as Political Move: The Case of Ciqing 219 Buddhist Faith and Court Service 226 Between Court and Saṃgha: Making an Imperial Bhikṣuṇī 238 Bhikṣus at Court? 241 Conclusion 247 CHAPTER FIVE. ADMINISTERING IMPERIAL BUDDHISM IN THE NORTHERN WEI: WOMEN IN THE SERVICE OF SOCIETY, STATE, SAṂGHA 250 Contrasting Portraits: From Ban Zhao to the Streets of Luoyang 252 Women in the Administration of Imperial Buddhism 259 Economies of Merit and Women as Fields of Merit 272 Buddhist Perspectives on Women, Family, and Renunciation 281 Conclusion 291 CONCLUSION. CURRENT RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND FUTURE RESEARCH TRAJECTORIES: FROM THE NORTHERN WEI TO THE EAST ASIAN CULTURAL SPHERE 295 Bringing it back to the Northern Wei: Women as a Religious Elite Revisited 296 Methodologies that Take Us Beyond the Northern Wei 303 APPENDIX ONE: FULL TEXT OF INSCRIPTIONS, CHINESE AND ENGLISH 307 Chapter One 307 Chapter Two 311 Chapter Four 316 Chapter Five 336 APPENDIX TWO: FULL TEXT OF EXCERPTS FROM DYNASTIC HISTORIES, CHINESE AND ENGLISH 344 Introduction 344 Chapter One 345 Chapter Two 347 viii Chapter Three 351 APPENDIX THREE: FULL TEXT OF SŪTRA TRANSLATIONS, CHINESE AND ENGLISH 361 Chapter Three 361 Chapter Five 370 BIBLIOGRAPHY 384 Reference Materials 384 Primary Texts 385 Secondary Sources in Western Languages 392 Secondary Sources in Asian Languages 405 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.
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