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Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s1: Literary Genre

Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s1

Language
English

Contents

Literary Genre

Fictional Narratives of the Supernatural World

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*Zhiguai Xiaoshuo* refers to fictional narratives of the supernatural world in classical Chinese and in particular, to those of gods and ghosts, heaven and hell, karma and other themes that were written in the Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties. According to Lu Xun, in the Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties, fiction was not a conscious production by Chinese literati. At that time, the so-called “novels” could be divided into two categories; one “Zhiren tales” which narrates real deeds and episodes of literati and officials and may make up the deficiency of official records and the other called “Zhiguai Xiaoshuo”, which mainly includes various weird stories and are not considered literary production. The latter is usually called “Zhi”, “Ji” or “Lu”, since it is a truthful record of what is heard rather than a literary production such as ‘*Linggui Zhi, Yuanhun Zhi, Soushen Ji, Shiyi Ji, Youming Lu, Jinyi Lu* etc.

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Despite a combination of Buddhist and Daoist influence and a purpose to advocate thoughts of these two schools, these tales, in fact, have a greater tint of Buddhism. During this period, a great number of monks left from India and the Western Regions to go to China and Chinese monks also went to India to collect sutras and study Sanskrit and they collaborated and translated many classic Buddhist texts including Buddhist literary works. At that time Buddhism was popular among nobles, officials and literati in China and was widely disseminated among ordinary population. Men of letters, mentally and socially, were ready to write down such supernatural tales. Buddhist texts gave them a new outlook of time and space and aroused a kind of amazing imagination. For instance, *Zhi Guai* and *Youming Lu* all contained a tale about “kalpa-ash” and “*kalpa*” is a Sanskrit expression and a concept of time, borrowed from India. Another example, according to Book 10 of *Shiyi Ji*, Kunlun Mountain could be divided into nine layers and obviously, this three-dimensional portrait of the universe had the influence of Buddhism. Buddhist texts also brought a new outlook of life and morality and people thus became aware of this world, the afterworld and karma. Zhiguai Xiaoshuo call for “no killing” which, clearly, originated from Buddhism and their descriptions of hell, basically, also came from Buddhist texts. For this reason, Lu Xun called them “books of secondary education for Buddhism”.

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'A Record of Spirits and Ghosts' (Ling gui zhi)

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Zhiguai Xiaoshuo in Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties often copied stories from Buddhist scriptures or made a few alterations and then turned them into Chinese tales. “Parrot and Fire”, a tale in *Xuanyan Ji*, was directly taken from the *Old Miscellaneous Avadana*. Linggui Zhi contains a tale of a “foreign preacher” and Xu Qixie Ji has a story about “a scholar of Yangxian”. They are much the same, and all adapted from the tale of “Brahmin and Pot” in the *Old Miscellaneous Avadana*. Similar cases are many and can be used for comparative study of Chinese and Indian literature.

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(*Xue Keqiao*)

The Legend of the Tang Dynasty

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*The Legend of the Tang Dynasty* is the classical Chinese novel consciously created by literati in Tang Dynasty in China. In Lu Xun’s opinion, Chinese novels before Tang Dynasty were basically not created consciously, and only from Tang Dynasty onwards, literati began to consciously create novels. Novels in this period not only inherited the tradition of anecdote novels and mystery novels in Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties but also were innovative and were strengthened in depiction and fiction, making the plots more complicated, characters more vivid, theme broader and the aspect more involved in social life, especially the works of those describing the love story between men and women were strong in romance.

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*The Legend of the Tang Dynasty* are also deeply influenced by Indian Buddhist literature. Ji Xianlin believed that the form of *The Legend of the Tang Dynasty* are affected by Indian stories, for example, the structure of *The Record of Ancient Mirror* is similar to that of *Panchatantra* and *Six Paramitas Sutra*. In terms of content, the *Record within a Pillow* (Pipe Dream) and *The Governor of Nanke* describing the dream-like world, the *Record of the Detached Soul* describing the separation of soul from body, and *Liu Yi’s Biography* describing the love and marriage between a common man and a dragon lady, are all related to Buddhist literature. At the same time, *The Legend of the Tang Dynasty* have also evolved from the Buddhist scriptures stories, for example, *Yuan Guai* (also known as *Yang Sou*) in the *Records of Xuanshi Palace* is clearly developed from the story of the crocodile wanting to eat the heart of the monkey, which is from *Jataka Tales*, and appears in many Chinese Buddhist scriptures.

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Painting of Nanke’s dream

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(*Xue Keqiao*)

Transformational Texts

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Bianwen refers to a popular form of literary works which appeared among the people during the Tang Dynasty and it is believed to be the forerunner of Chinese vernacular novels. Bianwen was a new literary genre created under the influence of Buddhism, actually most of these works can be seen as vernacular novels. Initially, Bianwen came from the *Informal Speeches* of Buddhist temples. In order to preach doctrines to the common people, monks first created *Informal Speeches*, namely preaching Buddhism doctrines in everyday language through the medium of stories. This way the doctrines that were preached became more interesting. Later, Bianwen came to be classified into more and more categories and then was not only limited to telling stories from Buddhism scriptures nor were the speakers only limited to monks. So Chinese historical stories, folk legends and real-life events etc, became the source material for creating Bianwen.

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'Dunhuang Collection of Bianwen' (front cover)

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There are many Bianwen based on material from Buddhism scriptures, such as *Vimalakirti Sutra Bianwen*, *Amitabha Sutra Bianwen*, *Saddharmapundarika Sutra Bianwen*, and *Mulian Rescuing His Mother Bianwen* (according to *Ulambana Sutra Preached by Buddha*), and *Prevailed against Devils Bianwen* (according to *Virtuous and Fatuous Sutra*). Bianwen based on material from Chinese legends and stories are: *Shunzi Bianwen*, *Han’s General Wang Ling Bianwen*, *Wang Zhaojun Bianwen*, *Wu Zixu Bianwen*, *Lady Mengjiang Bianwen*, *Dong Yong Bianwen* and so on. And some works which are not called Bianwen, are also thought as Bianwen by academic circles, such as *Han Qinhu’s Story*, *Ye Jingneng Poem*, *Swallow Poem*, and *Theory of Tea and Wine*. The latter two categories were all, more or less, influenced by Buddhism.

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(Xue Keqiao)

Stories of Gods and Demons

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Shenmo Xiaoshuo (Gods and demons fiction) refers to a genre of long novels that appeared in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasty and revolves around deities and monsters. This concept was first coined by Lu Xun in 1923. According to Lu Xun, this genre has three masterpieces - *The Journey to the West* by Wu Cheng’en, *The Investiture of the Gods* by Xu Zhonglin and *Sanbao Taijian Xiyang Ji*’by Luo Maodeng, and it begins with Pingyao Zhuan (The Sorcerer’s Revolt) by Luo Guanzhong. Similar works include *Xiyou Ji*, *Hou Xiyouji*, *Xu Xiyouji*, *Xiyou Bu* and the like. He is of the opinion that this genre is preoccupied with describing the struggle between gods and demons, and between the righteous and evil. Gods are righteous and represent orthodox imperial power, and a combination of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism while demons are vicious and traitorous. This is the case for each and every fiction of this genre.

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Gods and demons fiction appeared in late Yuan or early Ming Dynasty which flourished from the mid Ming Dynasty until late Ming and Qing dynasties. A great number of such tales constitutes a unique genre in the history of Chinese fiction. The influence of Buddhism is evident, but, more important, these fictions are all under the influence of tantric Buddhism, which was popular in China in Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. This text has been influenced significantly by two main traditions, one is Chinese Buddhist Tantric tradition, while the other is the Tibetan Buddhist Tantric tradition. The effects of Tantric Buddhism on *Gods and Demons Fiction* is evident in three respects - first, tantric deities appear in these novels and represent the righteous side; second, tantric spells and mantras are frequently used; and third, tantric magic is a major means for the struggle between gods and demons.

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(Xue Keqiao)

Maudgalyayana Opera

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*Mulian Play* is a drama composed on the basis of Buddhist stories. According to *Ullambana Sutra*, after Mulian (Maudgalyayana), one of Buddha’s 10 disciples acquires magic powers. He grieves at seeing his mother in a hungery state in a lower realm. Buddha instructs him to liberate his mother by offering foods to the sangha on 15ᵗʰ day of the seventh month. Chinese like *Ullambana Sutra* because its topic is very close to that of Chinese filial piety and have established the Obon Festival on the 15ᵗʰ day of the seventh month. Zongmi (780-841 CE), a scholar-monk in Tang Dynasty, once wrote a commentary on *Ullambana Sutra* saying that Mulian was named Luobo and his mother was called Qingti. This suggestion was instantly accepted by the population and adopted in Bianwen (Transformational Texts) in Tang Dynasty; such as *Da Mulian Yuanqi*, *Da Mulian Bianwen*, *Da Mujianlian Minjian Jiumu Bianwen*. According to Dongjing Meng Hua Lu (*Dreams of Splendor of the Eastern Capital*), in about 11ᵗʰ century CE, every year the drama of *Mulian Jiumu Zaju* would be performed in the Western Capital (present-day Kaifeng) from the seventh day to 15ᵗʰ day of the seventh month. Later, dozens of Mulian plays were created. In 12ᵗʰ century CE in northern China there

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[Figure: Mahāmaudgalyāyana rescues his mother: a record of filial piety (Mulian jiumu daxiao ji)]

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'Mahāmaudgalyāyana rescues his mother' (Mulian jiumu daxiao ji), a stage photo of Qi drama

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was also a Mulian play, called *Da Qingti*. In 14ᵗʰ century CE, Mulian *Ruming, Xing Xiaodao Mulian Jiumu* and other zaju of this topic appeared but they are no longer available now.

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In about 16ᵗʰ century CE, Zheng Zhizhen wrote *Mulian Jiumu Quanshan Xiwen* (called *Quanshan Ji* for short), which as the oldest and longest Mulian script ever found, consists of three books, 100 acts and more than 3,000 illustrations. *Mulian Jiumu Quanshan Xiwen* was printed in 1579. Names in the play were all Sinicised with Mulian being called Luobo and his mother, Qingti. Many other persons and deities were included, for example, his father Fu Xiang, his uncle Liu Jia, Buddha, Avalokitesvara, Sudhana, Little Dragon Maiden, Jade Emperor, Yama etc. In the first book, the family of Fuxiang is kind and generous, and his son Luobo is a Buddhist. After Fuxiang passes away, Luobo goes out for business. Qingti bewitched by her brother, abandons the Buddha hall, turns to kill livestock and eats meat, insults and drives away monks and nuns. With the help of Avalokitesvara, Luobo has a flourishing business and returns home three years later. In the second book, Luobo learns from his neighbours that his mother no longer believes in Buddha. Heaven discovers his mother's evil deeds and sends Yama to seize her. His mother dies. Avalokitesvara sends Sudhana and Little Dragon Maiden to tempt Luobo. The emperor learns of his filial piety and confers an official post on him. Saiying, a daughter of a rich family, wants to marry with Luobo, who declines the post and the marriage and walks toward the Eastern Heaven to pay respects to Buddha. Avalokitesvara sends a white ape to protect him. After numerous hardships, Luobo eventually jumps off a cliff and frees himself from mortal flesh and becomes a disciple of Buddha. Buddha gives him the name 'Da Mujianlian'. Mulian practises and cultivates himself under the instruction of Buddha. In the third book, Mulian wants to free his mother from the lower realm and Buddha gives him some magic items that can help him enter hell without any obstacle. In hell, Mulian fails to find his mother and has to return to Heaven to see Buddha. He is told that he can only see his mother on the eighth day of the fourth month. On that day, Mulian sees his mother in a very wretched condition. His father in Heaven learns of this and reports this to the Jade Emperor, who says that to be liberated, his mother has to be reborn as a dog. Now there are many dogs in the secular world, and Mulian does not know which one is his mother. Avalokitesvara tells him that the dog is with a Zheng family. There Mulian finds this dog and brings him home. On the 15ᵗʰ day of the seventh month, the Obon Festival is held to offer foods to the sangha, and his mother is liberated. The Jade Emperor confers Mulian the title of Maha Bodhisatva, and he and his family are reunited in heaven.

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After *Quanshan Ji*, Mulian plays were adapted and produced one after another, and they were performed at the imperial court of Qing Dynasty as well as on a public stage. They are included in major operas such as Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera as well as dozens of sorts of local operas, such as Hui Opera of Jiangxi, Shao Opera of Zhejiang, Xiang Opera of Hunan, Chuan Opera of Sichuan, Puxian Opera of Fujian, Han Opera of Hubei, Gui Opera of Guangxi and Wu Opera of Jiangxi. Mulian plays attract the attention of many scholars across the world and are deemed as “the living fossil of Chinese operas”.

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(*Xue Keqiao*)

Indian Mythology

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Like other nations in the world, India too developed its mythology along with the birth of its primitive religious belief. People observed and contemplated on natural phenomena themselves, the mystery of which drove them to cultivate a concept of gods and from this course mythology gradually evolved. The Indian mythology grew together with its religion and had been enriched and systematised. In the epic period, Hindu idols changed significantly; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were the most prominent and some historical legends evolved into new myths and were attributed to these three Gods. In the *Puranas*, Vishnu and Shiva were two distinctive sects of Hinduism. Religious maturity and schism gave rise to systematic and rigorous myths which were attached to different sects.

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Fusion of Shiva and Vishnu; Vishnu on the left and Shiva on the right

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*Indra, king of Gods*

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The appearance of a new religion led to that of a new system of mythology. With the birth of Buddhism and Jainism, new myths arose in India and assimilated some Hindu myths. Together, the myths of these three religions constitute the entire ancient Indian mythology.

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*Agni, God of Fire*

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Myths acquire vitality by virtue of the religion to which they are attached and within which they are disseminated and continued. So, the truth whether a mythology is vigorous or not depends on the vigour of its religion. Growing Hinduism gave rise to vigorous Hindu myths and pious followers acted as living carriers to pass down these myths from generation to generation or transplant them to other areas, such as dancing, painting, sculpture and everyday life. In India, Buddhism disappeared in the early 13th century and myths associated with it were no longer told, and not revived until the return of Buddhism in modern times. Jain mythology, like Jainism, has been lukewarm for long.

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Hindu Mythology

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In the system of Indian mythology, Hindu myths are richer, more complicated and occupy a dominant position. The formation of Hindu mythology, on the whole, can be divided into two periods which are the Vedic Period and the Period of Mahajanapadas. Actually, the so-called Hindu myths mainly come from three kinds of literature ie the *Vedas*, the two Hindu epics and the *Puranas*.

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Vedic Mythology

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The Vedic period extended from 1500-600 BCE and Vedic mythology refers to myths produced during this period. Many deities were mentioned in *Vedas* such as the Sun, Moon, Stars, dawn, darkness, mountains and rivers, cloud and thunders, forests and trees etc and chief deities include Indra (the king of gods), Agni (god of fire), Surya (god of the Sun), Varuna (god of the water), Vayu (god of wind), Ashvins (divine twin horsemen) and Yama (god of death).

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The *Rigveda* contains about 250 hymns in praise of Indra, king of gods. He is bearded, wields the vajra, uses a bow, and can change his form and ride and fight in his cart followed by a large retinue. He kills huge demons, cuts through mountains and brings forth water. He occupies many castles, kills many enemies and recovers the cattle from the hands of the enemies several times. He is divine in being able to summon wind, rain and thunder and is human in fighting bravely and liking to eat and drink, 'soma' in particular. Indra is the personification of the natural forces as well as an ideal and deified chief of the nomadic Aryan tribes. About 200 hymns in the *Rigveda* dedicated to the god of fire Agni, who is among the supreme deities and has some characteristics of fire. He brings light and eliminates illness and calamity. The deification of fire reflects the fire use and worshipping of ancient Indians. It also includes hymns on Surya, saying that he rides across the sky in a chariot and every day awakens people to work, he sweeps away darkness like a piece of animal hide, and gives off light for Gods and humans, and is like a red bird as well as a red gem.

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He can remove pains and ills and bring longevity. As a god of the water, a lord of rivers and rain and a keeper of law and order, Varuna is responsible for punishing those that break the order. He has a snare and many spies which are often sent to watch every movement of men. Vayu, the god of wind, can blow around and cause dust. He can enter the human body to remove illness and bring longevity. Ashvins are often mentioned in the *Rigveda* and they are twin brothers, young, handsome, smart and strong and can cure illness and save life. Yama is a god of death and a keeper of law. After death, every man has to see him and he has two dogs guarding the road to his abode.

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In the Vedic period, people often contemplated and tried to answer the question that how the world and human life were created and as a result, creation myths were produced. The *Rigveda*, one of the oldest sacred texts, has several kinds of creation myths. One kind was based on fertility cult. For instance, the hymns *Visvakarman* (10.82), *Ka* (10.121) and *Creation* (10.129) allude to sexual intercourse between man and woman, indicating that primitive people worshipped genitals as the source of life and thought the world, like man and

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Vishnu, surrounded by his 10 incarnations, (Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki)

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sky from his head, the Earth and regions from his feet. These together formed the entire world. This explained the formation of the Sun, the Moon and other natural phenomena as well as human beings and from this sprouted the caste - a distinctive system in ancient India.

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Puranic Mythology

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In 6ᵗʰ century BCE, India went into the period of Mahajanapadas and there formed 16 major kingdoms and republics in the northern India. From then on until the 4ᵗʰ or 5ᵗʰ century CE, a number of sacred texts appeared in India and among them, the *Ramayana* and the *Mahabharata* are the most influential and widespread. In many versions, which vary more or less from each other, these two epics are masterpieces of Indian culture and collections of rich and polished ancient Indian myths. An epic could not be compiled by a single man and at a single time and place, and so, tales in it often vary from and even contradict with each other. The compilation of these two epics and the appearance of the *Puranas*

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Statue of Brahma, god of creation in Hinduism

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woman's intercourse, was formed from “takedam” and a golden egg (garbha) and in the course of this water was very important.

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Another kind suggested that the world was created from limbs of a supernatural being. According to Hymn Purusa of the *Rigveda* (10.90), Purusa has 1,000 head, 1,000 eyes and 1,000 feet and is all that has been and all that is to be, and the lord of immortality. His mouth turned into the Brahman, his two arms the Kshatriya, his thighs the Vaisya and his feet the Sudra. The Moon was gendered from his breast, the Sun from his eyes, Indra and Agni from his mouth, and Vayu from his breath. The air was generated from his navel, the eventually contributed to the establishment of a complete system of Hindu mythology.

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Birth of Brahmā, an Indian miniature painting

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*Brahma riding the swan*

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In the Hindu epics and *Puranas*, achievements of three chief devas stood out. Brahma, a god of creation, is said to be born from a golden egg (garbha) which he turned into halves with the power of will, with one half as Heaven and the other half as Earth. He then proceeded to create five elements (earth, water, wind, fire and empty) and all things in the world. In the Hindu epics, he was also called as “Creator” or “progenitor of all human beings”. His skin is red and he has four heads, eight hands holding four *Vedas*, a sceptre, a jug containing the water of the Ganges River, a spoon used in sacrifice, lotus, prayer beads, a bow etc. He often sits on a lotus throne or rides a swan or a cart carried by seven swans. Though he is one of the triad and frequently appears in various texts, his feat is nothing unusual and he is often pushed aside by the other two chief devas. Vishnu is a guardian deva and also known as Narayana ie all-pervading. He has a deep-blue body, wears a yellow robe and has four arms holding a discus, a conch, a mace and a lotus flower. He rides on Garuda and his wife is Lakshmi. In the epic *Mahabharata*, Vishnu is described as lord of the world, and when the end of the world approaches he swallows it, and then rests on the back of a huge snake. When he wakes up, he again has a desire to re-create the world. So from his navel springs a lotus from which emerges Brahma to create the world as ordered by Vishnu. His most amazing tales are about his saving the world in various avatars. According to some *Puranas*, he has done this 24 times while some

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*Buddha, National Museum, New Delhi, India*

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say it is 10. He turns into a fish and saves mankind and various species from a great flood. He also turns into a dwarf to protect celestial and human realms from being occupied by Asuras. Besides, he saves the world many times in the avatar of a turtle, boar, lion etc. On tales of his avatars, the most revered are Rama and Krishna. The tales about Rama are mostly included in *Ramayana*, while tales about Krishna can be found in *Mahabharata*, *Bhagavata Purana* and *Vishnu Purana*. Shiva, one who creates and destroys the world, began to be worshipped as early as in the time of the Ganges civilisation. In the *Vedas*, he does not have a high status and is called Rudra. He combines functionally the characteristics of Aryan deities with those of indigenous Indian ones. He is a god of fertility, and Indians worshipped Linga - his symbol, which is a round-head pillar and looks like the male genital organ and represents Shiva’s capacity of infinite reproduction and creation. He is also the lord of dance, and his dance can destroy the world. He once danced to conquer many hostile ascetics. He is also a god of ascetic practice, and lives on the Mount Kailash (within Putian County, Tibet) down the ages. His followers consider him as the supreme god of the world, and other two chief devas are under his control and sometimes have to obey his commands. Shiva is powerful and violent, while sometimes he is very kind and benevolent as well. His skin is deep blue, with three eyes, sometimes four or five heads, four hands holding a trident, with a bow and arrows on the back, a small drum to the waist, a crescent on the head as an ornament, and a snake surrounding the neck. From his hair flows the Ganges, which is a celestial river and falls down from the heaven and sometimes may destroy the earth. So, he receives the water with the head at first and then causes it flow down. Shiva has a blue throat, since he drank the poison churned up from the Samudra Manthan to free other devas from pains. He is said to have been abstinent, and Kama, the god of love, attempts to seduce him, but is burned to ashes by his third eye. However, Shiva falls in love with Parvati, and they have two sons, one is Kumara (also called as Skanda), and the other is Ganesa. Tales of Shiva and members of his family can be found in the *Shiva Purana* and the epics and other *Puranas*.

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*Birth of Buddha, Song period mural, Cave 75, Mogao grottoes, Dunhaung, Gansu Province, China*

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Jain Tirthankara Mahavira

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‘Diagram of the Universe’ in Jainism

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For Hindus, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva form a triad and represent the Creator, Preserver and the Destroyer respectively. In Hindu mythology, some chief deities in Vedic myths retire to a minor position, such as Indra, Varuna, Agni and Vayu who cannot be compared with the triad, though they are still powerful and frequently appear. However, they often suffer from setbacks and have to seek the assistance of the triad. They are often punished by the triad if they make any mistake.

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Buddhist Mythology

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Founded during the period of Mahajanapadas, Buddhism absorbed nutrition from ancient Vedic texts, inherited a part of their thoughts and legends and transformed and utilised them to produce its own mythology. Buddhist mythology consists of two parts, one is tales of the Buddha’s life and the other is derived from Vedic and epic texts as well as folklore and centres around the Buddha with a variety of deities. The Buddha is presented as a form in the past, in the future, in three worlds and in three lives, and there are guardian devas such as Indra, Brahma, Mahesvara, four great kings, Aditya, Candra, Prithvi, Varuna, Skanda, Marichi, Yamaraja, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Hariti and Guhyapada vajrah, and besides, there are also eight types of minor deities, including Naga, Yaksa, Gandharva, Asura, Garuda, Kimnara and Mahoraga. Buddhism also presents a three-dimensional view of the universe, with the heaven, the earth and the underworld each being divided into several layers, and such an imagination is splendid and amazing.

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Of Buddhist mythology, tales about the Buddha’s life are the most representative. According to Theravada texts, Kapilavastu was a kingdom located in the south of Himalayas, the king wass Suddhodana and his queen Mayadevi. One day, Mayadevi dreamed of a white elephant entering into her belly from the right flank. Then she gave birth to a prince from the right flank under a sal tree in Lumbini Park. Nanda and Upananda came in due time and spat pure water to bathe the prince and Indra and Brahma came to say congratulations. The baby prince stood up and marched seven steps forward with one hand to the sky and the other to the earth, saying as loudly as a lion roars, “Heaven and Earth, I am the supreme! After this body, no more rebirth.” The prince grew up and at the age of 29, he left the royal palace one night and from thence was called Sakyamuni. After six years of ascetic practice, he was still not enlightened. Once morning, he came to meditate under a banyan and was offered a bowl of milk by a maiden named Sujata. After finishing it, the prince was refreshed and avowed to achieve enlightenment the same day. He went to a Pippala and a grass seller gave him some grass, which turned into a 20-cubit-high seat of vajra. The prince sat toward the east and began to meditate. All the devas came to guard him and the demons to interfered him with threats and temptations. The demons failed and the prince was unmoved, and became a Buddha. At this time, the earth shook, trees came into flower and showers of petals fell. Then he returned to his country and converted his brother Nanda and Nanda’s son Rahula into sangha. What he sought is the ultimate liberation rather than magic power, which he attained naturally. He defeated the evil dragon for many times, moved the mad elephant and escaped many assassinations attempted by his enemies. At the age of 80, he died in Hain Salavana in Kusinagara, and his body cannot be burnt until Mahakasyapa led 500 disciples to prostrate themselves and pray. Like his birth, his death is mysterious as well. In this way, a figure of mythology was produced.

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**Jain Mythology** Similar to Buddhism, Jainism also has a part of myths which interpreted the world and the life. Most of them were taken from ancient myths and legends, some from Vedic and epic texts, and some directly from folklore but with an inferior plot. The tales of Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, 23 Tirthankaras and 12 Cakravartis constitute the main body of Jain mythology.

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As for tales prior to Mahavira, Jain texts point out: time is infinite and shapeless, and rotates ceaselessly one cycle after another, and each cycle is equal to 10¹⁴x20 years and can be divided into 12 epochs. The first six epochs constitute the ascending and latter six the descending circle. The world is without bound and at its centre is the middle world (Madhya Loka). Below this are seven hells and above that are 16 heavens and 14 realms. Humans, animals, ghosts and some devas live in the middle world. At the apex of the universe is Siddhasila, the realms of the liberated souls. Men now are in the descending circle, in the first three epochs of which, people were in a state of happiness and entirely relied on nature for living. During this time, people could get what they need by just standing under the kalpa tree. There was no culture, no law, no rules and the like, and people lived freely and without struggle and war. At the end of the third epoch, people awoke from sound sleep and began to organise themselves into a number of clans and tribes. Some eminent chiefs were called 'kings' and they were also called Manu (lord of mankind). By the end of the third epoch there were 14 Manus, and in the fourth epoch, 63 major figures arose, including 24 Tirthankaras.

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A great number of Jain myths are about Mahavira’s life whose birth was miraculous. About 2,500 years ago in a kingdom that is now Bihar, the queen had a strange dream. She saw a series of propitious things including Lakshmi, full moon, sun, male lion, elephant, bull, golden cart, sacrificial fire, garland, throne and the like in her dream. Days later, she gave birth to Prince Mahavira, who upon birth appeared very unusual, healthy and handsome, and never needed to be taught, since he had mastered all knowledge in a previous life.

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Influence on China

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Of the three ancient Indian mythologies, Buddhist mythology had the greatest influence on China, while Hindu mythology worked on ancient China through Buddhism and Jain mythology virtually had no effect on China.

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(*Xue Keqiao*)

Buddhist Literature in India

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Buddhist Literature in India (or Indian Buddhist Literature) refers to a literary phenomenon and works in ancient Indian Buddhist literature. When Sakyamuni founded Buddhism, he had to preach in an expressive way and often use metaphors, folk tales and real examples to make his followers understand and accept his teachings. Literature became a tool of his mission. After his death, his disciples collected his teachings to form the earliest Buddhist texts. In later generations, Indian Buddhists kept refining, enriching and enlarging them to an increasing number and complexity. Buddhist texts varied from area and time and have been written in Sanskrit, Pali, in proverbs etc. Texts compiled in later generations still made full use of literary tools, and included many literary pieces which are called “Buddhist literary works of India”.

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Classic Buddhist texts consist of three parts, that is, *Sutra Pitaka*, *Vinaya Pitaka* and *Abhidharma Pitaka*, collectively called as Tripitaka. Each part contains literary contents. A sutra contains direct teachings and sayings of the Buddha, but actually many later works are intermingled in it. Despite a purpose to preach Buddhist teachings, it still includes many literary tales. For example, the *Mahaparinibbana Sutta* contains many fables, tales, myths and legends. A vinaya describes the disciplines to be observed by Buddhists. It may be quite literary and contain beautiful tales, fables, myths and legends, so as to facilitate followers to understand, memorise and implement, such as *Dharmaguptavinaya*, *Hahisasakavinaya* and *Sarvastivadavinaya*. Abhidharma Pitaka also contains considerable literary contents. For example, the *Mahaprajnaparamita-sastra*, compiled by Nagarjuna and known as “the King of Abhidharma Pitakas”, tells many stories. India has a colossal number of Buddhist texts which contain an amazing amount of literary pieces. So, these Buddhist texts are a treasure of ancient Indian literature, world literature and human wisdom.

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'Prince Mahasattva Jataka' (Saduona taizi bensheng), the southern wall of cave 254, Mogao grottoes, Northern Wei Dynasty

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*Mahaprajnaparamita Upadesha/ Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom* (*Da zhi du lun*), composed by Bodhisattva Nagarjuna and translated by Kumārajīva, printed by the imperial storehouse during the fifth regnal year of Ming Zhengtong, 1440

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Buddhist literary works of India cover a variety of genres including fables, fairy tales, myths and stories as well as verses and dramas, such as Asvaghasa’s *Buddhcarita* and *Sariputra-prakarana*. Tales in Buddhist texts of India can be divided into several categories: 1. Tales of the Buddha, which are mainly about the life of Sakyamuni and his birth, growth, monkhood, enlightenment, preaching and nirvana. 2. *Jataka Tales* ie tales told in *Jataka* concerning the previous lives of the Buddha in human and animal forms. They are ancient Indian folk tales affixed with a Buddhist tag. 3. Myths and legends including ancient Indian myths and legends recorded, polished and adapted by Buddhists, especially Brahmanic ones. 4. Karma tales or apadanas, tales used in Buddhist sutras to explain or demonstrate an argument or vinaya. 5. Magic power tales recorded in Buddhist texts about the supernatural power of various Buddhas and their disciplines. These are new myths created by Buddhists.

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(Xue Keqiao)

Indian Folk Literature

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India is a nation with a marvelous imagination, a nation of excellent storytelling and has a time-honoured tradition of folk literature. India is also a nation with a variety of ethnic groups, languages and religions, and is prolific in folk literature of regional dialects as well as religions.

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**Tradition** The *Vedas*, among the oldest sacred texts, are a collection of ancient Indian folklore but have been mistakenly excluded as such by some people, since they were compiled very long ago and have been deified by Hindus. As a matter of fact, they are the beginning of Indian folk literature. Following them, the *Brahmanas* also contain a great number of folk tales, which, however, had been transformed and provided with more turns and twists. The two epics, *Ramayana* and *Mahabharata*, have a treasure of ancient Indian folk literature, and their framework of stories belong to folk literature and are inter-woven with many myths, fables and tales. Almost contemporaneous with these two epics, the *Puranas* arose and focused on ancient myths and legends. The *Jataka*, compiled several centuries before Christ, contains over 500 fables and some tales about the great sage. Like *Jataka*,

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*‘Selected stories from Kathasaritsagara’* (*Gushihai xuan*), front cover

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the *Panchatantra* is also a collection of fables, the earliest text might have appeared in the 2^nd or 3^rd century, and the existing Sanskrit text was compiled in the 12^th century. The *Hitopadesa* was written on the basis of the *Panchatantra* from about 10^th-14^th century and has been separately disseminated in east India. The *Brihatkatha* is a rich and splendid collection of tales written in everyday language, and someone even compare it to the two epics. Its date of its creation is not known and may be very close to that of the *Panchatantra*. It was lost in the 11^th century, and now there are three adapted versions in India and Nepal, with *Kathasaritsagara* being the most popular. It is a Sanskrit text adapted in Kashmir in the 11^th century and only about 1/35 of the Brihatkatha. Popular Sanskrit tale collections also include *Vetālapañcaviṁśatika*, *Siṁhāsana Dvātriṁśikā* and *Sukasaptati*, which all put emphasis over moral teaching. Dravida in the south of India had its own folk literature long ago. For instance, there are “five major epics” and “five minor epics” written in Tamil and the ‘*Ramayana*’ has also been translated and adapted in Tamil. After the 13ᵗʰ century, local dialects rose and were used to translate and adapt Sanskrit works and to produce a prolific amount of their own works of folk literature. Besides, Muslims brought Arabian and Persian works into India and further enriched Indian folk literature.

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**Classification:** From the perspective of folklore, Indian folk literature includes a full range of myths, epics, tales, ballads, riddles, proverbs, folk dramas and folk dances with rich contents for each category. By religion, Indian mythology can be divided into Hindu mythology which include Vedic mythology, epic mythology, Purana mythology and the likes; Buddhist mythology include legends of the Buddha’s life and tales recorded in Buddhist sutras; Jain mythology, which narrates the life of 63 major figures, including Mahavira and other 23 Tirthankaras, 12 Cakravartis, 9 Narayanas (or Vasudevas), 9 Pratinarayanas and 9 Baladevas; and, the Islamic mythology, including tales in the *Koran*, ballads, riddles, proverbs, folk dramas and folk dances mostly developed and spread after 13ᵗʰ century, and their collection, compilation and study did not begin until modern times.

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**Influence:** Indian folk literature has a worldwide influence. In mid 19ᵗʰ century, a passion for Indian folk literature was aroused among western scholars. Through the study of Indian mythology, they promoted the birth and development of historical comparative linguistics and comparative literature. Someone even attempted to find the origin of the world’s folk tales in Indian folk literature, and think that most folk tales began in India and then moved to other parts of the world. For instance, some tales in *Jataka* and *Panchatantra*, are told in various parts of the world, especially in Asia, and tales in the *Ramayana* are also well told in Asia. Indian folk literature also has a considerable impact on China. With the entry of Buddhism, many Indian myths, legends and folk tales were brought into China and widely told in central China as well as in Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan and other places.

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(Xue Keqiao)

Linked texts (18)