Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.67

v1.c6.67

*Monks of the Great Tang Dynasty Who Studied Buddhist Classics in the Western Regions*) too illustrates in detail architectural scale, layout, materials and technologies of the Nalanda Monastery. This, in fact, gives us a valuable first-hand record of the ancient Indian Buddhist temple architecture. Two volumes of Dao Xuan’s *Zhong tian zhu she wei guo qi huan shit u jing* (*Illustrated Scripture of Jetavana Vihara of Śrāvastī in Central India*) claims it to be “written by Monk Shi in South Mountain in a ‘state of enlightenment’.” Some of its description of architectural layout of Jetavana Vihara of Sravasti in Central India, however, came from records of the Indian monks. Certain stylistic architectural designs of the Indian Buddhist temple architecture more or less influenced the construction of Chinese Buddhist temples. Some Indian monks who visited China during the Sui and Tang Dynasties were proficient in architecture and participated in designing or construction of Chinese Buddhist temples. The Longmen Indian Temple in Luoyang, Henan was built by Tripitakacharya (dharma master) Bao Siwei depicting abdication of throne and adoption of monastic life by the Indian prince, Siddharth Gautam. According to records in Volume III of *Song gaoseng zhuan* (*Biographies of Eminent Monks Compiled in the Song Dynasty*), Bao Siwei built his temple on Longmen Mountain and “all of its style was based on the Western Region.” This indicates that it was built completely according to the layout pattern of Indian temples. With the development of close contact through the maritime Silk Road, Indians came to China for a living. Hindu Brahmanical temples were built in Guangzhou in the Tang Dynasty and a ‘Śiva’ temple was raised in the famous ancient trading port in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Its stone engravings depict themes from relevant Hindu religious scriptures and are still visible. During more modern times, Chinese-styled temples as well as wooden and stone pagodas (eg temples in China Town and in Indian Buddhist centres for pilgrimage) have been built by Chinese in India. These could be considered as representative examples of Chinese architecture in India.