too. Over 5000 families became lovers of Buddhism. In the first year of the Three-Kingdom-Wei1, ruler P'i's period, Hwangch'u, Chinese first subjected themselves to Buddhistic restrictions, shaved their heads and became bonzes." The ruler Sun K'üan also held the Buddhist system in reverence, but his grandson Hao detested it and commanded the destruction of Buddhist buildings.

The Tsin Emperor Wu taking over the abdicated empire, during the first year of the period T'ai-shï a S'ramana named Chuh Fa-hu came to Loh city and translated very many volumes of Buddhist Sútras". Ch'êng Ti and Kien Wên' were both admirers of Buddhism; Hiao Wu still more so; he even had a viharas erected inside the palace, and introduced a number of S'ramanas to reside in it. He paid no attention to the remonstrances of one of his officers named Wang Ya. Kung Tilo had cast a golden image of Buddha with a body sixteen feet long; he went in person to accompany it into the monastery, following it for a distance of over 10 li.

Kung, Prince of T'ai-yüan,11 made the people work in corvées at the construction of Buddhist monasteries, much to everybody's discontent. He was afterwards executed for rebellion, and even as he approached the scaffold kept on reciting Buddhist Sûtras. During the Tsin dynasties there were forty-two Buddhist monasteries in Loh,12

1A. D. 220. So called to distinguish it from Northern Wei., the first emperor, was the son of the celebrated Ts'ao Ts'ao.

Mr. Watters in a note mentions dubiously another authority, which makes out that some Chinese became monks as early as Han Ming-ti's time. He also says (what is not improbable) that a western monk brought Sutras to the Wu capital and translated them, but this statement is not worth much without references.

3 #; of the southern of the Three Kingdoms, Wu.

4

; the last, or.; erroneously printed in Mr. Mayer's Manual. A. D. 265.

6; there is evidently some connection between the two first syllables and those of Note 3, p. 226. The extract from Sui-shu says that Fah Lan translated the +# (not) during the period Yung-p‘ing (♬ T ‡), which proves that Father Hwang's system of counting dates must be wrong. This Chuh Fah-hu is evidently Mr. Watters' monk from the country of the Getae." Mr. Watters states that between A, D. 254 and 260 a Chinese traveller went (from the Wei kingkom) to Khoten and obtained 90 chapters of the Sutras, which he translated thirty years afterwards on his return to Ho-nan, giving his work the title of #. He says Dr. Edkins is wrong in calling it. However both are wrong, as are the proper characters, and the traveller's name was Chu Shi (*). In other respects Mr. Watters' statement is correct.

7 Of the second or Eastern Tsin, 326-342, 371-2 and 373-396.

8; a sort of private chapel or monastery.

9

'; a very trusted counsellor; too much so in the opinion of h is con. temporaries, who characterised him as a toady (*).

10 A. D. 419, the last of the T'sin dynasty.

"1¤; I cannot find out who this was. I suppose a relative of the

emperor.

12 The Tsin-shu mentions the arrival of a foreign S'ramana named Déva (#), who was a great expounder of the principles of Buddhism, and especially of the t Sûtra.

and it was from this period that the Buddhist teaching, moving eastwards, gradually gained its formidable proportions.

During the North and South Dynasty Period1 China was in a state of anarchy. The Hindoo S'ramana Buddhôchinga2 came to Siang State. Shih Lêh, the ruler of After Chao, made a great deal of him and styled him the Great Upadhyaya. The Ch'ang-sha S'ramana Wei Tao-an recognized Buddhôchinga as his spiritual master and despatched disciples in every direction to spread abroad the Buddhist doctrine.

In the first year of Shih Hu's period, Kien-wu, the people were first freely allowed to become bonzes. He paid, even more than his predecessor, assiduous court to Buddhôchinga, supplied him with superb raiment and gave him a carved chariot to ride in. His people vied with each other in the construction of monasteries and temples. They shaved their heads and quitted their families. Some did this to evade taxation; others to indulge in wickedness. An officer named Wang Tu headed a party who presented the following petition :"The Han and Wei dynasties only allowed people in the Western cities 10 to erect monasteries. Chinese in the metropolis11 were none of them12 allowed to quit their families. All persons, from dukes and ministers downwards, should now be prohibited from visiting the monasteries, burning incense, or worshiping, and all subjects of Chao who have become S'ramana should revert to their former tenets." 13 Hu's decree ran:-"Any of my people who like to worship Buddha are hereby specially authorised to do so freely."

1 At this epoch the Toba family of Sien-pi Tartars ruled North-China, while the Chinese Tsin dynasty ruled the south. At the same time various Hunnish, Tungusic and Tibetan dynasties were striving for possession of parts of North-China. Most of them favoured Buddhism strongly.

2; Dr. Eitel dates his arrival A. D. 348. It should be 328. 3; south-west of Hing-t'ai district city in Shun-têh-fu.

47; see my Relations with Tartar and Tibetan Tribes in the CHINESE RECORDER for 1885-6. His Tartar name was Pei (). He was a pure Hun. 5大和尙

6 衛道安of常沙; a place I cannot find.

7; general and successor of Shih Lêh, i.e., after Shih Hung (), whom he murdered A. D. 335. Kien Wu was from 335 to 348.

8 It is remarkable how much the introduction of Buddhism amongst these rude Tartar invaders resembles the introduction of Christianity amongst our early AngloSaxon invaders in almost every detail.

9

E; a sort of historiographer.

10A; Mr. Watters translates "only foreigners," which seems inconsistent alike with what really took place and with the next clause.

"; this seems to mean that foreigners anywhere and Chinese in the western or semi-Tartar parts only might do so.

12 Probably "official persons" is meant.

13; the extracts shew that this is meant, i.e., "that which they submitted to in their youth."

Fu Kien,1 ruler of Anterior Ts'in, sent messengers to induce the Hindoo bonze Kumaradjeva to come. He came and made revised translations of the Buddhist Sutras.

4

During the reign of the Emperor Wen, of Sung, the number of Buddhist images, pagodas and monasteries might have been counted by the thousand. Siao Mo, Prefect of Tan-yang,5 presented a memorial requesting that a decree might be issued stopping the construction of further Buddhistic images and buildings. The bonze Hwei Lin meanwhile was entrusted at court with a share in the government and obtained overwhelming influence; his doors were constantly besieged by the chariots and horses of visitors, while there was no end to the presents and bribes he received. He was nicknamed the "black-coated premier." 7

8

The Yuan-wei established their empire in the gloomy north, where the Buddhistic faith had not yet been heard of, or where, if heard of, it had not been believed. But when they came to exchange diplomatic missions with Tsin they made enquiry into the Buddhist system of Southern China, and the Emperor Tao Wu sent for the S'ramana Fah Kwo to go to the capital.10 Kwo presented his respects with perfect propriety and observed to certain persons: "The present emperor is the reigning Buddha. I am not saluting the son of heaven. I am doing obeisance to Buddha." Tao Wu made a great deal of him. Ming Yüan-till was also an admirer of Buddha, and commanded the erection of images in the metropolitan district,12 and

1; grandson of the Sangut chief P'u Hung (). It will be noticed that the Tibetans and Tartars were really those who most encouraged the propagation of Buddhism in China.

2 htt; Dr. Eitel calls him a native of Takchas'ila. He had been with his mother at Kü-tsz, the modern Kuche, which Mr. Watters calls "a country near Tibet."

a Mr. Watters says this was done at Wei Tao-an's suggestion.

Founded by Liu Yü (1), who murdered a couple of Tsin emperors and usurped the throne in A. D. 420.

**; in Kiang-nan.

6; not to be confused with the bonze, who converted the Turkish Khan a century later.

7 It is worth while mentioning too that about 406 Buddhabhadra (EH) was at Chang-an, then the court of the Tangut Emperor Yao Hing (). A Chinese S'ramana from Tangut, named Chi Yen (), had met him in Cophene, and the pair of them had come through various countries to Tonquin (E), where they got a junk and went in her to Shan-tung (). As this Chi Yen was one of Fah Hien's companions the party probably formed one with that distinguished traveller, who also came from Tonquin to Shan-tung.

8 ; this name was not adopted until A. D. 497, when the Toba Emperor adopted it on obscure metaphysical grounds.

9; just about this time the celebrated Fa Hien (E) was starting from the Ts'in capital of Yao-hing on his Indian travels. Dr. Eitel in his lectures calls this emperor Yao Ling.

10 Hwai-jên district in Ta-t'ung.fu. His ancestors, the, or "pig-tailed" branch of the Sien-pi, had been Princes of Tai ever since A. D. 315. The dynasty of emperors began with it in 386. They are the ancestors of the later Kitans. 1 His successor, A. D. 409-423; described as having worn a yellowish beard. 12; compare Notes 10 and 11, p. 228.

2

that the S'ramanas should improve the popular morals by instruction. But when T'ai Wu-ti succeeded1 he discovered, when on his way to the conquest of Ch'ang-an, some spirit-manufacturing implements in a certain monastery, and also tens of thousands worth of valuable property which had been stowed away there by the prefect and magistrate of certain administrative divisions. There was also a vaulted apartment where clandestine adultery and fornication were carried on with the females of rich families. The emperor ordered the executive officials to burn to death the whole of the bonzes with their monasteries, and also to burn and destroy all images of Buddha.3 At that time the heir-apparent, Kung Tsung, was acting as regent, and having always liked the worship of Buddha he took plenty of time to promulgate the decree, so that every one far and near got wind of it in time to take steps for their own safety; the S'ramanas put themselves in hiding, and a great many escaped scot-free, but the images, buildings and pagodas were all utterly destroyed.

4

During Wên Chêng-ti's reign he caused them to be rebuilt, and the bonzes with their disciples gradually re-assembled. After Hiao Ming-ti's time the empire was disturbed, and the corvées imposed upon the people became severer than ever. Consequently registered persons everywhere made haste to become Taoists, or pretended to be S'ramanas, with the real object of evading service. At this time there were two million bonzes and nuns, whilst monasteries and such buildings numbered over thirty thousand."

Ts'i took over the empire abdicated by Sung and the Buddhist doctrine along with it. The Emperor Wu would not have animals slaughtered for his food, and ordered the two S'ramanas—Fah Hien1o and Hüan Ch'ang1o—to organize an assembly of all the bonzes in the empire. Ming Till commanded that the bonze Kin12 should be Archimandritel of the empire.

1 A. D. 424; native name Fuh-li.

This was twenty-two years later, in 446; the Toba hosts meanwhile swept like an avalanche over North China, and only made peace when they reached Kwa-chou, opposite Chinkiang.

3 Mr. Watters makes no mention of these important events.

; he never reigned, though Mr. Watters calls him "son and successor." His personal name was, and after his death his father bestowed on him the posthumous title of. It was his son who gave him the temple title of Kung-tsung.

5A. D. 452-64; he allowed the people to become priests again.

The Peh-shi says that during this reign the King of Kashgar ()sent an envoy with Buddhist images and vestments of asbestos cloth.

A. D. 516-27; but his predecessor Suan Wu-ti had already run up the number to 13,000. In 518 the envoy Sung Yün (), accompanied by the Bhikchu Hweisheng (E), were sent to the west for Buddhist books. They returned from Gând. hara with 170 works.

8 Founded by Siao Tao-ch'êng (), who killed the last two Sung emperors. Reigned 479-82. 9 A D. 483-93.

10 ;; not to be confused with the two celebrated travellers, whose names (see Note 5, p. 232) resembled these somewhat. 11 A. D. 494-8. 12 *.

13

E; according to Mayer's Manual this is now a subordinate post.

He

The Emperor Wu,1 of Liang, which succeeded Ts'i, was a great admirer of Buddhism. He submitted to the discipline and surrendered to it his person. He was a strict vegetarian and regular faster, and abandoned the imperial robes in favour of a priestly cowl. voluntarily became a disciple of Buddha, mounted the pulpit and expounded the Nirvana Sútra. His ministers and people followed him like an avalanche, cut their bodies and allowed the blood to sprinkle the ground, or used blood as ink for copying the Sûtras. The S'ramanas would hang themselves up by iron hooks, keep a thousand lamps alight and sit a whole day and night rigid and motionless. From ancient times Buddha had never before been worshiped with such absolute devotion.

The Emperor Wu, of Ch'ên2, took over the succession from Liang, and he also surrendered his person and submitted to the vows. He summoned a great assembly and went out in person to the front of his palace to pay his devotions. The Emperor Wên1 organized another somewhat similar assembly and formally devoted his person too in one of the imperial halls." The Emperor Süan did much the same. In the first year of Hou Chu's period, Chêng-ming3, that monarch sold himself to Buddha as a slave.

9

The Emperor Wu, of Northern Chou, established an order of precedence for the three religions, making Confucianism first, Taoism second and Buddhism the last in rank. In the third year10 of Kien Têh the two religions of Buddhism and Taoism were prohibited, the bonzes and priests were made to rejoin the laity, and all their books and images were destroyed. All heretical worships11 not contained in the Book of Worship were utterly abolished.

The Emperor Wên, of Sui, took up the succession. He issued a manifesto authorising all persons within his realin to become bonzes12 at will. He also ordered subscriptions at so much per head for the making of books and images. Buddhist books were now scores of times more numerous than the Six Classics. When Yang Ti1s visited 1 A. D. 502-549; Mr. Watters mentions the arrival of Bódhidharma in 520, but he passed on to the northern capital of Loh-yang. He is called by Eitel the. 2 陳霸先;A. D. 557. ; I suppose the two first words are Sanskrit ideas or syllables. Wu Ti, of Liang, had already held such an assembly at the T'ung-t'ai monastery (##). 4 His successor; 560.

5; alluding to the limitlessness of knowledge. We may assume that the other alludes likewise to the unconcealableness of something Buddhistically good. 6太極前殿 7 A. D. 569-582.

8 A. D. 587-8, when he was dethroned. He died in 604.

9 The Yu-wên (X) family of Sien-pi Tartars who reigned at Ch'ang.an from 557 to 581. This was the third emperor, 561-577.

10 A. D. 574.

11; our old word "lewd," meaning "simple" and "unsophisticated," heterodox."

"silly,

12; cf. Note 7, p. 224.

13 The second Sui Emperor, 605-16.