Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.14

v2.c10.14

It was from 1ˢᵗ - mid 3ʳᵈ century CE that Indian Buddhism was initially introduced to China. Indian literature started to influence Chinese literature and some Buddhist words such as *Sramana* (see Zhang Heng's *Poetry of West Capital*) and *Upàsaka* (see *History of Later Han Dynasty*) first appeared in Chinese poetry around this time. Afterwards, based on the birth story of Prince Gautama Siddhàrtha, the poet Cao Zhi (192-232 CE) created the lyrics of *Prince Poetry*. In the meantime, the Chinese also began to cite Buddhist stories in literary works. For example, Ying Shao (153-196 CE) included the *Two Women Scramble for the Son* and *Two Persons Battle for Fine Silk Fabrics* in his *Fengsu Tong*, both of which were sourced from the *Jakata Tales · Maha Umagga Jataka*. Han Danchun's (about 132-221 CE) *Xiao Lin* (*Humors Jokes*) includes the fable of *Curing the Hump* that was sourced from *The Hundred Parables Sutra*. China's orthodox history, *Records of the Three Kingdoms · The Book of Wei*, volume 20, has a story of *Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant* which was sourced from *Za Bao Zang Jing* (*The Sutra of Miscellaneous Jewels*). The characteristics of the influence of Indian Buddhist literature on Chinese literature during this period mainly manifested as a copy and simple adaptation of Chinese literary works from Buddhist stories.