Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s2.t3.4

v1.c5.s2.t3.4

“The Queen saw a huge tree named Asoka in the garden, its flowers were fragrant and fresh and its leaves were very luxuriant.” *Juan* 6 of the *Travelling Notes on the Western Regions in the Great Tang Dynasty* recorded that Xuanzang visited Lumbini and saw that the Asoka tree under which the Buddha was born had withered away. Because the Asoka tree was related to the birth of the Buddha, it became one of the Buddhist holy trees and all ancient Indian stone sculptures or frescoes describing the birth of the Buddha painted the image of the tree. The artistic way of depicting the Asoka tree was introduced to China from India. In the frescoes at Qizil and Dunhuang which depict the birth of the Buddha, the image of the tree appears in many places.