Open Collections

Lau, QZ

Database of Religious History (DRH)

Buddhists living in the imperial capital of Luoyang under the Northern Wei Dynasty of China in the fifth and sixth centuries, including monastics, foreign visitors, and laypeople (both nobility and commoners). A Record of Buddhist Monasteries in Luoyang (Chinese: Luoyang qielan ji, 洛陽伽藍記) was written in approximately 547 CE by Yang Xuanzhi (Chinese: 楊衒之 fl. 6th century CE) about the many Buddhist monasteries and temples that had formerly been present in the historic Chinese capital of Luoyang (modern Shaanxi province). Luoyang had been most recently rebuilt as the capital of the Northern Wei dynasty (386-535 CE), when Emperor Xiaowen (r. 471-499 CE) relocated the empire’s capital there as part of his reforms and the city boasted over a thousand Buddhist temples in addition to imperial palaces and institutions of government. However, Luoyang had been largely destroyed amidst the destructive civil wars that marked the end of the Northern Wei, and by the time of Yang’s writing, he noted that few temples remained, and sought to provide future generations with a record of their existence, along with stories associated with their presence. The Record is subdivided into five major sections covering temples located in the inner city, along with those in the suburbs, ordered by cardinal direction. Yang records detailed descriptions of the major temples present in Luoyang, including architectural details and functions of their buildings, their physical location within the city, and crucially, many political and cultural events associated with them. A typical entry for a temple would include its name, sponsors, construction date, and noteworthy aspects of its construction, especially landmarks such as towers and Buddhist images. The prose of the Record intersperses Yang’s descriptions and accounts with notes on the individuals and events he describes, providing valuable insights into the religio-cultural and social life of the capital city during the early medieval period. The entries on individuals and events include prose noting major political upheavals such as rebellions and palace intrigues, as well as short biographies of people associated with the temple, both monastic and lay. The last section of the text focus on the northern suburbs of the city but also includes an extensive travelogue recounting a pilgrimage from 518-522 CE led by Northern Wei emissaries Song Yun and Hui Sheng to the Western Regions (modern Central Asia). Song and Hui’s account also record cultural and religious traditions they observed in the cities of the areas they visited, including locations of Buddhist miracles, the religiosity of the rulers, and foreign relations between the countries. Yit’ung Wang’s (Chinese: 王伊同) 1984 translation into English from Princeton University Press and W.J.F. Jenner’s 1981 translation in Memories of Loyang are two complete versions of the work in English.

Other

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0438209

Non UBC

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/