S13: Buddhism in China
China to 1800
October 13, 2025
Recap: Age of Disunity or Diversification?
The period of “Northern and Southern Dynasties” was a prolonged period of political division, but it also marked the expansion and diversification of the Chinese cultural sphere.
- Redefinition of China’s geography and its external relations: North and South
- Emergence of a new social elite with distinct cultural and literary practices.
- Formation of a hereditary military population and new military institutions.
- Increasing separation of the imperial government from society, supported by military power.
- Rise of major religions that are not strictly aligned with dominant social and political groups, such as Buddhism.
Buddhist Conquest of China
By the year 600, China became predominantly Buddhist. How did it happen? Its success was all more remarkable because:
- The ideal of celibacy posed difficulties for the family-oriented Chinese culture.
- Language barriers existed as Buddhist texts were originally written in Sanskrit.
Key Questions
- Buddhism arrived in China both as a universal religion and as a foreign teaching. What is it (and foreign about it)? How did it take over China?
- How did Buddhism change China? How did China change Buddhism?
- How have Buddhism and art traveled together across time and space?
The Buddha: Life and Times
Buddha, probably Amitabha (彩繪塗金夾紵漆阿彌陀佛像), China, early 7th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Known by names like Shakyamuni, Siddhartha, and Gautama, the Buddha lived in North India around the 6th to 5th centuries B.C.E.
- Siddhartha broke with his family to pursue monastic life, eventually realizing the “Middle Way” between self-indulgence and extreme self-denial, which became the foundation of his teachings.
- His efforts led him to attain bodhi, or enlightenment.
The Four Noble Truths
Dharmachakra (Wheel of the Law), the single most important symbol of Buddhism, denoting the Buddha’s First Sermon in the forest at Sarnath, where he set Buddhist Law (dharma) in motion.
- Truth of Suffering. The one word that sums up life is suffering.
- Suffering Caused by Desire. We suffer because we desire and our desires will not be met. The one thing we desire most, to live our lives, will inevitably be taken.
- Suffering has an end. We must cease desiring.
- There is a path to cease desiring. The path begins by recognizing our ignorance and by understanding our suffering comes from desire.
Nirvana: The End of Suffering
The realm of man is considered the highest realm of rebirth, but there is an even higher state: enlightenment, or Nirvana.
- The goal of Dharma is to empty oneself of desire.
- The moment desire is gone we arrive at emptiness and karma is gone.
- This is nirvana (niepan 涅槃), the extinguishing of the candle of suffering.
Buddha’s Enlightenment
- Distinguishing marks (lakshana) include: cranial bump (ushnisha), tuft of hair (urna), wheel sign (chakra) on hands/feet.
- Wheel signifies Buddha’s teaching and leadership.
- Dressed in monk’s robe, seated on a lion throne.
- Bodhi tree branches reference his enlightenment.
Detail: Earth-touching Mudra
- Buddha was tempted by the demon Mara during his meditations.
- Mara challenged Buddha’s enlightenment, but Buddha touched the earth to call it as his witness, which became a significant gesture (mudra).
- Mara represents inner temptations, especially ego, that hinder enlightenment. Overcoming Mara symbolizes overcoming the self.
Imaging Buddha: Why Do We Need One?
- For 600 years after his death, the Buddha was not shown in human form.
- He was represented by symbols like footprints, a parasol, or the Bodhi Tree.
- How did the Buddha’s human image came about?
- How to deify a human who wasn’t a god?
Buddha’s Statue: What to Look for
If the Buddha’s body is an expression of his transcendence, how can one express his calm and reflective state?
- Bump of Knowledge: Symbolizes spiritual wisdom.
- Jewel: Radiates the light of wisdom.
- Curly Hair: Represents enlightenment.
- Third Eye: Emits light to enlighten the world.
- Robe: Stitched from rags, as worn by early monks.
- Mudras: Hand positions with symbolic meanings. (Here: Meditating)
- Halo: Represents light radiating from the Buddha.
- Leg position: One of three basic poses. (Here: Cross-legged lotus pose, showing the Buddha growing out of the mud of the material world like a lotus, symbolizing spiritual growth.)
Posture
Mudras
Buddha’s Face
- Smiling sagacity and fierce inwardness
- State of enlightenment and transcendence
- Expression of dhyana, or “meditation”
- Looks down to engage the viewer
Buddha’s Face, continued
The fierce pupils motionless.
and their brightness slightly lessened
his eyes, directed downward
were focused on his nose
the eyelashes stationary
the stilled eyes stilling the brow
By restraint of his internal current
he was like a cloud
without the vehemence of rain
like an expanse of wate
without a ripple
like a lamp in a windless place
absolutely still
Key Bodhisattvas
Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who choose to remain in the world to help others instead of entering nirvana.
Buddha Maitreya (Mile)
Maitreya is worshiped both as a bodhisattva and as a Buddha, for it is believed that once the current cosmic era has destroyed itself, he will be reborn as the teaching Buddha of the next great era.
Bodhisattva: Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin)
- Avalokiteshvara offers help along the path to enlightenment and is able to hear the cries of suffering of all living beings.
- Guanyin, in Chinese Buddhism, the bodhisattva of infinite compassion and mercy.
- In India, bodhisattvas are genderless or are referred to as male. But Guanyin is often depicted as female in China.
- One reason for this gender fluidity: Bodhisattva has the ability to manifest on earth in many different forms.
Activity: Reading Buddhist Art
- Who is depicted here?
- How do we recognize this figure? Identify life stage, posture, hand gesture, etc.
- How was the object used?
- How has the depiction changed? Find another object of the same figure.
The Lotus Sutra: The Burning House Parable
- A wealthy old man has a large, decaying house with a single narrow gate.
- A fire breaks out, endangering his many sons who are playing inside, unaware of the danger.
- The father tries to warn his sons, but they are too absorbed in their games to listen.
- What could the father do?
First Buddhists in China
- The first Buddhists were foreign merchants who formed small communities in Luoyang around the start of the common era.
- The earliest mention of Buddha in China was in 65 CE when an emperor praised a prince for sacrifices to Buddha and Laozi.
- Buddhists were marginalized during the Three Kingdoms period until the Xianbei conquest of Luoyang in 311 improved their status.
Silk Road: Crossroads and Encounters of Faiths
- While commonly associated with trade of exotic goods and treasures, the Silk Road played a greater role in the spread of religious ideas and beliefs.
- Various communities of faith interacted, coexisted, competed, and influenced one another over extended periods, including Judaism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam.
- The transmission of Buddhism from India to China, and subsequently to Korea and Japan, is a key cultural exchange along the Silk Road.
Fotudeng
- Buddhist monk and missionary from Kucha. He studied in Kashmir and came to Luoyang in 310 CE
- Shi Le, a Xiongnu ruler, met Fotudeng before taking Luoyang, where he expressed interest in Buddhism’s miracles.
- Fotudeng performed a miracle to demonstrate Buddhism, impressing Shi Le, who then allowed the establishment of monasteries in northern China.
Dao’an: Creating a Faith Community in China
- By 349, Fotudeng had made Buddhism the religion of the Xiongnu, but conflicts with northern tribes forced his disciples, including Dao’an, to flee south.
- Dao’an settled in Xiangyang, Hubei, where he established the first known Chinese Buddhist community with a temple for 400 monks, a pagoda, and a large Buddha statue.
- Buddhist monasteries became centers of agricultural life, featuring markets and flour mills.
- Dao’an adopted “Shi” as the surname for all monks, creating a familial connection to Buddha as their patriarch.
Pilgrimage of Faxian
Soon, Chinese Buddhists also began to make pilgrimages to India.
- Faxian 法显 (337-422 CE): Born in Shanxi in the 4th-century under the Later Zhao dynasty.
- In 399, Faxian traveled for thirteen years to find Sanskrit texts on monastic rules in areas where the Buddha preached and attained nirvana.
- While heading to Indonesia with 200 passengers, his ship faced a severe storm, prompting Faxian to pray to Avalokitesvara (Guanyin in Chinese).
- Faxian returned to China with many Buddhist texts and translated them from Sanskrit into Chinese.
Buddhism: A Foreign Religion, A Universal Religion
- Mahayana Buddhism focuses on the redemption of all beings from rebirth.
- Rulers taking bodhisattva vows expressed devotion to Buddhism while enhancing their status as cosmic saviors, linking their power to the sacred.
- Buddhism especially attracted non-Chinese rulers: it offered an alternative to Confucianism, which favored literate Chinese officials and was rooted in Chinese culture.
Yungang Grottoes
- Buddhist cave art in Datong, Shanxi Province
- Large scale: 252 caves/niches, 51,000 statues, 18,000 square meters.
- Built under Imperial patronage in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-535).
- Influenced by South/Central Asian art, but with Chinese character.