Western Wei 535-556
Northern Zhou 557-581
Zhou Dynasty (690-705)
Empress Wu Zhao
Imperial expansion, 630-755
“Height of Silk Road”
Imperial retreat, 755-907
An Lushan rebellion 755-63
“Silk Road decline”
India, Ashoka (r. 268-232 BCE)
China, Northern Dynasties (317-589)
Kumarajiva served Later Qin (384-417)
Xuanzang (ca. 596-664) served Tang
Mahayana Buddhism in Gansu
N. Wei (386-534)
Conquest of N. Liang (398-439) in Gansu
Monasteries and cave temples move to interior
Yonggang Cave Temples
Pingcheng (P'ing-ch'eng)
N. Liang artisans and monks
Longmen Cave Temples
N. Wei shift of capitals to Luoyang in 493
2345 caves and niches
Over 100,000 images
| Patronage of Temples at Luoyang, N. Wei | No. |
|---|---|
| Imperial Household and Relatives | 20 |
| Officials | 7 |
| Eunuchs | 6 |
| Wealthy Commoners | 12 |
Government bureau to manage clergy
Monk-officials
Based in Daxingshan Temple in capital
Buddhist Temples of the Great Flourishing State
113 established with reliquaries, 601-4
60 Donors with inscribed names
16 “relics” in bottle
Synthesis of Confucian and Buddhist religious thought
“August Emperor, Son of Heaven”
“Bodhisattva Son of Heaven”
Sui administrative systems maintained
3 state-supported “scholastic” sects
Centered on texts & interpretations
Tiantai
Lotus Sutra
Faxiang
Xuanzang
Huayan
Huayan Sutra
Pure Land
Amitabha (Emitofo) “Buddha of Infinite Light”
Avalokitesvara (Guanyin) Bodhisattva
Chan
Japanese Zen is best known
Sudden enlightenment
Esoteric
Tibetan Tantric is best known
Syncretism (non-exclusivity of religion)
Popular (“Confucian”) religion
Ancestor worship
Kitchen god, etc.
Daoist healers
Avalokitesvara (Guanyin)'s Sex Change
Empress Wu Zhao
Concubine to Taizong (r. 626-49)
Buddhist nun
Official wife of Gaozong, 655
Expansion of Longmen
Ancestor Worshiping Cave
Absolute Cosmic Vairocana Buddha
17 meters high
Constructed 660-75
20,000 strings of cash
Luoyang
Primary Capital
Elevation of Buddhism to 1st rank
1st bestowal of purple robe, 686
Ministry of Rites
Empress Wu’s titles in 695
“Heaven-appointed, Golden Wheel, Great Sage, August Emperor”
Cakravartin “Wheel-turning king”
Great Cloud Monasteries
Great Cloud Sutra
Maitreya as female monarch
Communal Vegetarian feast, 694
Patterned on Ashoka
“Compassionate Bodhisattva” title
10 cartloads of money
“Miracles”
At urging of Daoists, 446-452
Issued decree in 446: “From this day forward, whoever presumes to worship foreign gods and make images either of clay or bronze will be put to death with his whole household”
Proscribed in 574
All “foreign” religions proscribed in 842
At urging of Confucian government officials
Proto-paper , 1st c.
Commonly used, 3rd-4th c.
Diamond Sutra printed scroll, 868 (click on thumbnail image to see full scroll)
Blob model
Model of selective adaptation and assimilation
