高雄遊子

佛教網絡─中國與鄰近國家

BUDDIHIST NETWORKS IN CHINA AND NEIBORING RELIGIONS

          The establishment of Buddhism in China had a significant impact on cross-cultural interactions across the Asian continent. As Buddhist doctrines spread from China to Korea and Japan, almost the whole of Asia, from Iran to Japan, became connected through Buddhist networks of exchange. These networks, overland and maristime, featured not only missionary and pilgrimage activities related to Buddhism but also the transmission of artistic and scientific ideas, mercantile exchanges, and the spread of various cultural elements such as music, dance, and art. These Buddhist networks were instrumental in connecting China to other societies in Asia and in fostering religious, economic, and cultural exchanges with them.

      佛教在中國確立後，對亞洲大陸跨文化交流影響深遠。佛教教義從中國傳入韓國與日本，而後幾乎遍及全亞洲，從伊朗到日本，皆因佛教網絡交流而產生連結。這些網絡橫跨海陸，不單以僧侶及朝聖為特色，也傳遞藝術、科學觀念、發展商業貿易，以及傳播各種文化元素，例如音樂、舞蹈、繪畫。同時，也助於中國與亞洲其他社會之間發展宗教、經濟以及文化的交流。

       The overland networks of Buddhism linked the Buddhist sacred sites in southern Asia to China through Central Asia and after the fifth century incorporated Korea and Japan. Merchants and Buddhist monks belonging to various ethnic groups traveled through these networks to either trade commodities or proselytize the teachings of the Buddha. These pathways, popularly known as the Silk Road, witnessed the development of a number of oasis states that became important centers of Buddhism. Khotan, on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert, and Kucha, on the northern rim, for example, facilitated Buddhist interactions between China and southern Asia. Dunhuang, another oasis center east of the Taklamakan, became a hub for the Buddhist faithful coming from China and southern Asia.

       It is now renowned for its stunning painted Buddhist caves and the discovery of Buddhist manuscripts in different Asian languages. Dunhuang exemplified the multicultural nature of the transmission of Buddhism and cross-cultural interactions between China and the rest of Asia that took place through Buddhism. There were Chinese clergy and Buddhist novices who learned the teachings of the Buddha, South and Central Asian missionaries who took up residence at the site, and Sogdian merchants, from the Central Asian country of Sogdiana, who formed their guild at this place.