Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.s1.t2.4

v2.c11.s1.t2.4

As early as in the period of Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty (who reigned during 502-549 CE), the royal music was already integrated into many contents of Buddhist music. In Sui Dynasty, the Western Regions' dance was not only brought into the court but also played a leading role. Up to the Tang Dynasty, the impact of the Western Regions' dance and even Indian dance on Chinese Buddhist songs became more obvious. In 7^th^ century CE, even King Yongqiang of the Kingdom of Pyu (now in Burma) was influenced by Indian culture deeply and he believed in Buddhism and also sent Buddhist songs and musicians to China several times. It was altogether 10 kinds of Buddhist songs and 32 musicians. According to volume DLXIX of *Ce Fu Yuan Gui*, in 13^th^ year of Tianbao Period (754 CE), the name of Buddhist music which was originally popular in Kucha area was changed, for example, *Kucha Buddhist Songs* was changed to *Jinhua Dongzhen* and *Fast Kucha Buddhist Songs* was changed to *Fast Jinhua Dongzhen*. According to the Northern Song Chen Yang's *Music Book*, Tang music included over 20 kinds of music, such as *Puguang Buddhist Songs*, *Maitreya Buddhist Songs*, *Riguangming Buddhist Songs*, *Yamantaka Buddhist Songs*, *Apothecary Liuliguang Buddhist Songs*, *Sakyamuni Buddhist Songs* and *Avalokiteshvvara Buddhist Songs*. This indicated that Buddhist Songs were already very popular in Tang Dynasty. Some Buddhist songs were still retained in the Dunhuang potpourri.