Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t20.4

v1.c7.s3.t20.4

other temples in China such as in Yunnan province, and the source of such a story can be traced back to a legend about Lord Vishnu, a major Hindu god, changing into a dwarf. Second, Quanzhou was a very important port which played an essential role in the connection of India and China by sea in the history. During the Tang and Song Dynasty, a large number of Indian businessmen were living and doing business here and several Hindu temples were established at that time. Mahavira Hall (Great Buddha's Hall) in Kaiyuan Temple was also referred 'Baizhu Hall' (100 Pillars Hall in Chinese) and as time rolled by into the end of Ming Dynasty, the pillars in the Mahavira Hall were all changed into stone pillars with a variety of incised patterns including 24 pieces of carved stones telling the story of Lord Vishnu changing into dark sky and lion-man. According to textual researches, these are all the relics of Hindu temples of Tang and Song Dynasty. Third is Buddhist Tantrism. Since its development in India, it was rapidly introduced into China. Since Tang and Song Dynasty, Chinese Buddhism was greatly influenced by it and in Song Dynasty there were so many Esoteric Buddhism monks who once arrived at Quanzhou or lived here doing missionary work. This is why lots of elements of Esoteric Buddhism can be found in Quanzhou Kaiyuan Temple such as Five Dhyani Buddhas.