Backgrounds of the Buddhist Coloring in the Youming Lu 61

Chapter 2 Backgrounds of the Buddhist Coloring in the Youming Lu

This chapter describes the social and religious backgrounds of the Youming lu, traces literary works prior to the Youming lu that bear Buddhist colorings, and thus tries to situate the Youming lu within the context of early Buddhist litera- ture in .

Social and Religious Backgrounds

The introduction of Buddhism into China began in the later period of the East- ern Han (25–220).1 In the initial period of transmission, Buddhism was at- tached to daoshu 道術 (Daoist techniques) and its teachings spread within limited areas.2 With the fall of the Han, China embarked upon a long period of disunion. Except for the brief reunification during the Western Jin period (265–317), the fragmentation lasted for more than three centuries. During this time, people suffered from the continuous chaos caused by endless wars. Meanwhile, Confucianism had lost its dominant position and Daoism satisfied the doubts of only some of the literati. Traditional norms came into question.3 All these factors gave Buddhism a strong opportunity to spread throughout China. From the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) to the time of the Eastern , Buddhism spread and developed rapidly. By the time of the South- ern Dynasties (420–589), Buddhism had already become widespread in China. It seems that the [Liu] Song was the first dynasty in which Buddhism re- ceived much attention and respect from the royal clan. During the Wei and Jin

1 For the early history of Buddhism in China, see Tang Yongtong 湯用彤, Han Wei liang Jin nanbeichao fojiao shi 漢魏兩晉南北朝佛教史 [History of Buddhism in Han, Wei, Western and Eastern Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties] (: Zhonghua shuju, 1955); Erik Zürcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China; Kenneth K. S. Ch’en, Buddhism in China: a Historical Survey (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1964) and The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973); and Jacques Gernet, A History of Chinese Civilization (London: Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 210–18. 2 Tang Yongtong, Han Wei liang Jin nanbeichao fojiao shi, pp. 59, 81. 3 See Li Zehou 李澤厚, Mei de licheng 美的歷程 [The Path of Beauty] (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1981), pp. 85–95.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi 10.1163/9789004277847_004 62 Chapter 2 periods, the Han people rarely dedicated themselves to Buddhism and seldom became monks. According to the “Biography of Fotudeng 佛圖澄 (232–348),” Wang Du 王度, the editorial director of the secretaries, submitted a letter to the royal court, which read:

In the past, Emperor Ming 明帝 of the Han (r. 58–76) was stirred by a dream [in which he had a vision of Buddha], and Buddhism was, for the first time, able to spread its Dharma.4 [The emperor] only allowed people from the West to build monasteries in the capital thereby to worship their deities; [as for] the people of the Han, none were allowed to become monks. The Wei inherited this policy of the Han and followed the prior regulations as well.

往漢明感夢, 初傳其道。唯聽西域人得立寺都邑, 以奉其神; 其漢 人, 皆不得出家。魏承漢制, 亦循前軌。5

The Jin dynasty continued this practice. Wang Mi 王謐 (360–407) of the West- ern Jin says in his “Da Huan Xuan nan 答桓玄難 [Response to Huan Xuan’s Questioning],” “Monks and the numerous devotees are all various foreigners. Moreover, rulers do not associate with them” 沙門徒眾, 皆是諸胡, 且王者 與之不接。6 By the Song dynasty, however, the situation had changed.

Buddhism and the Royal Court of the Song Liu Yu was supported by Buddhists in the creation of the Song kingdom. ­According to the “Biography of Huiyi” 慧義 (372–444) in the Gaoseng zhuan, during the reign of Emperor An 安 of Jin (397–418), a Buddhist monk told his disciples that the spirit of the Songgao 嵩高 Mountain had said that Gen- eral Liu Yu of Jiangdong 江東 would receive the .7 Huiyi

4 It is said that Emperor Ming had a dream in the third year of his reign (61), in which he saw a golden figure flying from heaven and hovering over his palace. While deciphering the dream, one of his ministers told him that it was the divine man who was born in the West and whose name was Buddha. Thus Emperor Ming sent a mission to India to search for Buddhist scriptures, and he also ordered people to build a Buddhist monastery, Baima si 白馬寺 (White Horse Monastery), in 洛陽. This is considered the earliest event that represents Buddhism starting to spread in China. See Fan Ye 范曄 (398–445) and Sima Biao 司馬彪 (d. 306), Hou Han shu 後漢書 [Eastern Han History] (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1962), 88. 2922. 5 Huijiao, Gaoseng zhuan, 9. 65a. 6 Yan Kejun, Quan shanggu sandai Qin Han Sanguo Liuchao wen, 2. 1569. 7 Songgao Mountain refers to Mount Song 嵩, the noted Central Mountain in . Jiang- dong refers to the area south of the Yongzi River at its lower reaches.