Nation Founder and Universal Saviour: Guanyin and Buddhist Networks in the Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms
The Nanzhao (649-903) and Dali (937-1253) kingdoms controlled large swaths of territory centred in the Dali region of what is now southwest China’s Yunnan province. Dali served as a hub in transregional networks that linked it to Tang-Song China, Tibet, India, and Southeast Asia, meaning that people...
| Published in: | Dynamics in the history of religions |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2018
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| In: |
Dynamics in the history of religions
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| Further subjects: | B
Religion in Asien
B Asia B Religion B Asien-Studien B Religionswissenschaften B History |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The Nanzhao (649-903) and Dali (937-1253) kingdoms controlled large swaths of territory centred in the Dali region of what is now southwest China’s Yunnan province. Dali served as a hub in transregional networks that linked it to Tang-Song China, Tibet, India, and Southeast Asia, meaning that people in Dali could have potentially developed a regional form of Buddhism that hybridized elements from each of its neighbours. Given that human agency and historical factors shape network formation, Dali Buddhism did not come equally from all possible routes. Extant sources show that ruling elites in the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms relied more heavily on conduits linking Dali to Chinese territory for their Buddhist material, especially their texts. However, they emphasized instead their links to India and downplayed the China connection. I use texts and images related to the border-crossing bodhisattva Guanyin (Skt. Avalokiteśvara) to show how these documented and represented networks relate to each other in the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms. Understanding networks and identity in Nanzhao- and Dali-kingdom Buddhism requires understanding not only how people interacted with each other, but also how they depicted those interactions. Regional and transregional forms of Guanyin from the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms offer a way to examine both kinds of networks. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Dynamics in the history of religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/9789004366152_005 |