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The Influence of Manichaeaism

Before we dive into Manichaean art history and interpretation, I have linked some folk music from the geographical area in which these ruins are found. Enjoy. 

This project will explore the recently discovered Manichean temple sites in Turfan; looking at the art, structure and artefacts in these temples. It will examine how closely these artefacts resemble adhere to ‘classic’ Manicheism as opposed to how they might have been influenced or have influenced the local cultures or the other religions of the Silk Road. The presence of these Manichean sites of worship in Turfan demonstrates a level of organized practice of Manichaeism, as well as Manichean’s significance and popularity along the silk road. These sites of worship are placed in the context of other temples and shrines, demonstrating the religious plurality of the Silk Road. Manichaeism was not isolated in this religious dialogue, and in fact was perhaps the epitome of ancient pluralism, accepting many different religious ideas and symbols. 

Some believe that Manichaeism to be a sect of Zoroastrianism that sought to synthesize popular elements of other religions to achieve success (Johnson 3). However, Manichaeism cannot simply be called a strategic amalgamation of beliefs and cultures, nor a mere branch of another tradition. Mani’s religion held cultural and religious sway during the Silk Road period, and while it did make significant use of the symbols and structures of other belief systems, it provided something larger than the sum of its parts. This delve into Manichaean art and textual sources seeks to show how Manichaeism did adapt parts many different aspects of several larger traditions. While also developing something new out of this amalgamation and finding its own particular art and scriptural style that allows it to be identified today. 

Contextualizing Manichaeism

Manichaeism was a world religion that survived into the fifteenth century and yet exists today in near obscurity. Manichaeism was founded in modern day Iran in the third century A.D. It eventually spread West to Western Asia and even gained footholds in Europe and the Mediterranean. Most important for our purposes, Manichaeism found a lot of success in modern day China, particularly the Xinjiang province and Turfan (Huashan 268). Mani made a deliberate effort to spread his scripture as efficiently as possible, ensuring it was widely translated and distributed to many different cultures. The prime mover of early Manichaean doctrine were the Sogdians, a people who had also aided in the spread of Buddhism and Christianity (Grenet 464). It was not just the chance of time and culture that Manichaeism has faded so suddenly, but instead the work of political powers. The swift popularity and spread of Manichaeism was a threat to other established religions. There was a harsh movement to remove the influence of Manichaeism and strong state-sponsored efforts to convert Manichaean worship spaces. 

These fears of Manichaeaism were not unfounded, as Manichaeaism was designed to be appealing to the members of the largest religions at the time. Namely, Christianity, Buddhist, Hinduism and Zoroastrianism. Mani claimed that these religions were not contradictory to his cosmology. He claimed the world was inherently dualist and was created of the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of the Profane. These were also known as the Kingdom of Spirit and Darkness, respectively. He claims that the religious leaders of the other popular religions at the time (namely Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus) were true prophets and were right to be worshipped. However, their teachings had been warped through time as none of these men had writings of their own. Instead, it was generations of disciples later who recorded their words, and Mani claimed that by that time, the oral tradition had already distorted the original meaning. His teachings were merely returning the words of these great prophets to their original glory, Mani claimed to be the next in the great line of these prophets. 

Figure 1: From the Bezekilk Caves, an example of Manichaeaism’s focus on cross-culture teachings. Here we see an East Asian and North Asia Monk exchanging the word of Manichaeaism (Le Coq) 

His campaign was successful and so the backlash was harsh and much Manichaean art and texts were destroyed, today “the majority of ancient Manichaean art remnants derives from a ruined City in Turfan, often referred to by its historical name, Kocho” (Mirecki 177). For our purposes, we will refer to the entire site and the artefacts recovered as ‘Turfan’, though there are three grotto complexes that house crucial Manichaean relics and art. They are Tuyok, Bezeklik and Sangim and each holds dozens of Manichaean grottoes. Though some have been degraded to near obscurity, much like the religion itself, many have retained structural integrity and even their art.  (Huashan 269). These grottoes have provided researchers with immense insight to the beliefs of Manichaeism, but perhaps even more importantly, it has given them immense insight to how Manichaeism was practiced at the local level and how it interacted with other religions. 

Common Manichaean Motifs 

A staple of Manichaean art is depictions of the Tree of Life which is also known as the Tree of Good. This symbol of light and purity sometimes shown with its twin, the Tree of Death (Huashan 274). Manichaeism main doctrine centres around this duality of life and death, bad against good. Mani claimed to have a twin which bestowed upon him the knowledge that he was a prophet meant to bring people to salvation. We see in Figure 2 a drawing of a fresco discovered in the Bezeklik grottoes, kneeling and praying to the Tree of life. Much of Manichaean art and writing is centred around the Tree of Life. Mani’s teachings claim that in order to return to the Kingdom of Heaven, his followers must not only believe but take on more ‘traditional’ monastic values, such as “severing with fleshly desires and being unable to marry or to produce offspring” (Huashan 283). We see Manicheans worshipping the tree of life in this illustration, knelt around it at a respectful distance, a common motif in the frescos and art found in these caves. 

Figure 2: A rough sketch of a fresco inside one of the Manichaean Bezeklik grottoes (Huashan).

The Manichaean tradition held writing as an art form quite highly. Mani was very focused on writing down his thoughts and dispersing them widely, as one of his main concerns was with the distortion of the word of the prophet. Mani wanted to secure that no writings should come to light in the future and allegedly be traced back to him” (Klimkeit 1). Most Manichaean writings today are identified through their being written in a Manichaean script, a very illustrative script that is used to allow for a unique identifier of Manichaean scripture and for communication between Manichaeans of different cultures. From artistic choice to overall doctrine, cross-cultural compatibility was a priority for Manichaeism. There are signs in all forms of Mani’s conscious effort to ensure that Manichaeism did not invalidate any major belief system, but instead seamlessly incorporated them. The Manichaean script was another way to more effectively spread the doctrine, while other religions, such as Islam, might be restricted by a language barrier. 

In Figure 3, there is a Manichaean artefact, remarkably intact and still legible. Klimkeit has translated the lines of 5-10 of the right column, which is an extract from the Manichaean hymn, “The Song of Mani” (49). The majority of the texts recovered from the Turfan grottoes were written in Turkish and different of Iranian script, though this hymn was originally written in Syriac (Huashan 294). Manichaean hymns commonly contain “supplication through prayer and ascriptions of praise” (Johnson 127), but this particular hymn pictured is slightly different. The hymn provides some context into how Mani saw himself as a prophet, his calling in life to his relationship with his spiritual ‘twin’. 

Figure 3: A remarkably intact page from a Manichaean hymn book, excavated from the Turfan sites. (Klimkeit)

Buddhism in Manichaeism 

Most Manichaean hymns held references to the religious beliefs of Buddhism, Christianity or other religions within the same chant. Johnson’s translation of one of the Turfan textual fragments demonstrates a mixing of terminologies, such as the Christian ‘heaven’ and the Zoroastrian ‘Vahman’ without any apparent internal contradiction (132). This inbuilt hybridity is very common in Manichaeism, as the tradition often co-opted language from other religions, using metaphors, similes and worship language in their own texts; blending them all into something new. Such is the case for the Buddhist metaphor of ‘sea filled with monsters’, which is used as an image representative of the tumultuous turn of the wheel of samsara. This specific image is referred to in a Manichaean hymn that reads as follows; “Who will take me over the flood of the tossing sea. […] Who will lead me beyond rebirths […] May I be saved from the terror of the beasts who devour one another” (Grenet 476). The clear reference to ‘rebirth’ only reinforces this idea that is it a Buddhist image being appropriated. In the rest of this hymn, the narrator is referred to as only ‘The Great Aesthetic’, a title that could belong to the Buddha as easily as Mani. These influences were not only one way, Manichaean ideas of the Buddha influenced local Buddhist communities too, even if they were not formally converted. These similarities are sometimes even more apparent in visual art, not just textual remnants of this tradition. 

Since so much of Manichaean art and scripture was lost over time, whether as intentional sabotage or the natural wear of centuries passing, our sources are limited. This project has so far focused on Manichaeism’s similarities to Buddhist because the Buddhist-Manichean blend is one of the key features of these Turfan grottoes. As part of the concentrated effort to disenfranchised Manichaeism mentioned earlier, many Manichaean temples in Turfan were closed and converted into Buddhist temples. While some were completely restructured, many were left as they were due to the striking similarities in art styles and content, several grottoes “remained untouched, undoubtedly because their content was so close to Buddhist beliefs” (Huashan 293). In Figure 3, we see one of these examples. To someone unfamiliar with the Manichaean tradition, it might appear like a simple depiction of the Buddha. Perhaps one specific to a local tradition, as several aspects are unconventional in Buddhist iconographies, such as the hair. 

Figure 4:

Mani as the Buddha is a well-used motif, Grenet describes a painting in which Mani is drawn and captioned as the ‘Buddha of Light’ who is preaching is a group of Western Barbarians he has just converted (475). He is also shown preaching to figures wearing the robes and symbols of Taoist aesthetics, converting very different groups of people. As previously demonstrated, Manichaeism focused on bringing in many cultures and belief systems under their umbrella of belief. 

Other Traditions in Manichaeism 

As easily as he took on the title of ‘Mani-Buddha’, Mani adapted the prophetic names from other religions. Mani often referred to himself and the apostle of Jesus (Burkitt 38), claiming a direct lineage. Not biologically, but spiritually. However, it is not just Mani’s adoption of other religions’ terms where we see the blend of cultures. In some Zoroastrian work, small details in are found, which are often inexplicable. In larger Zoroastrian carvings, some details do not fit properly with what scholars know of Zoroastrian practices. With growing awareness of and study into Manichaeism, scholars are beginning to understand such things as Manichaean symbols (Grenet 474). Hinduism also makes an appearance in Manichaean art and in a significant way. Hindu gods are often given places of important, taking the important role of a ‘divine audience’, their presence giving cosmological legitimacy to the proceedings. In Figure 5, four Hindu deities are depicted with halos, observing a Manichaean conversion ceremony (Gulácsi 73). The surrounding text is the names of the donors and the King who is going through this conversion. The two figures to the left are thought to be heavenly beings from a local Buddhist tradition. 

Figure 5: This half of one of the most famous Manichaean art pieces clear shows a line of Hindu Gods, watching over a conversion ceremony for what seems to be a local king (Gulácsi). 

‘Traditional’ Manichaean Art 

Herein lies the difficulty of identifying ‘Manichaean’ art or tradition, as it was designed to be used by local cultures, to blend into their specific cultural brand of religious belief. As demonstrated, signs of Manichaeism are found in small ways throughout many traditions and often bore so many similarities to other traditions, the art was re-coopted by those religions. This can present a significant problem for identification of these artefacts and raises difficult questions about where one religion begins and the other ends, if that line exists at all (Mirecki 177). The problem is then as follows: If so much of Manichaean is similar if not nearly indistinguishable from Buddhist or other religious motifs, how might scholars note the differences? There are some ways to identify Manichean art that is rarely found in other styles. 

The first major sign is, of course, the text. Manichaean text is distinct from other scripts at the time, and is an easy identifier of whether an art piece is Manichaean. Within texts, Manichaeism uses some distinctive artistic flourishes in the margins or surrounding the text. This is slightly apparent at the top of Figure 3, the sweeping red ink visually marks is as a Manichean text fragment. In his studying of various Manichaean textual pieces, Mirecki discovered a pattern of “decorative designs within Manichaean texts that are found along the margins of and within texts” (191). Looking through collections of text Fragments from the Manichaean grottoes, there is certainly a distinctive style of embellishment that are found across the fragmentary remains of Manichaean books (Weber). 

Some other signs in Manichaean artwork have been identified as near exclusive to the Manichaean traditions; at least in the Turfan region. It is especially the case in a religious as diverse as Manichaeism that “arts undoubtedly took on local peculiarities” (Klimkeit 2). One consistent Manichaean motif is the presence of flowers or other foliage being held by donors or figures of significance. There are other small signifiers to the original style of depicting the elite in Manichaean art, such as white garments or the red string around the head (Mirecki 210). Disk Motifs are also very common in Manichaean pieces, which are subtly different from the halos often used to surrounded figures of significance. They are more details, often layered and used as a kind of framing device to surround scenes and divide one moment from another (Mirecki 197). Figure 6 depicts a very Buddhist looking figure surrounded by these disks, which circle out from being a halo to being a decorative indicator of ‘aura’ of this figure. 

Figure 6: A figure in a traditional Buddhist pose and showing the stretched earlobes and hair knot, both of which are signs of an enlightened figure, or a Buddha (Gulácsi). The gold and red disks mark it as a Manichaean adaptation of Buddhist motifs. 

Mani was an intelligent man, living in a cultural epicentre of his time, he sought to create a religious movement that incorporated many belief systems. That rendered them compatible with a new system, while not tarnishing the symbols or iconography of these religions. Manichaeism is an intelligent blend of many different traditions, more than obvious in the remnants found in the Turfan grottoes. Manichaeism was a Salvation religion that spread far across the Silk Road and up into China. Despite the intentional destruction of texts and worship spaces by Buddhists and other religious communities, some traces of Manichaeism survive to this day. They reveal the complex, layered practice of this brief religious monolith but Manichaeism was not just a patchwork of other traditions. It developed its own strong culture, influenced the traditions around it and even found its own unique art style. Things like the disk motifs, the Manichaean script, and the plurality of its art, set Manichaeism apart from other religions of its time and location. 

                                                     Bibliography

Burkitt, F C. Religion of the Manichees. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1925. Print.

Grenet, F. “Religious Diversity among Sogdian Merchants in Sixth-Century China: Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Hinduism.” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, vol.27, no. 2, Jan. 2007, pp. 461–476.

Gulácsi, Zsuzsanna. Manichaean Art in Berlin Collections. Turnhout: Brepols,  2001. Print.

Huashan, Chao. “New Evidence of Manichaeism in Asia: A Description of Some Recently Discovered Manichaean Temples in Turfan.” Monumenta Serica, vol. 44, no. 1, 1996.

Jackson, A V. W. Researches in Manichaeism: With Special Reference to the Turfan Fragments. Ner York: AMS Press, 1965. Print.

Klimkeit, Hans-Joachim. Manichaean Art and Calligraphy. Leiden: Brill, 1982. Print

Le, Coq A. Chotscho: Facsimile-wiedergaben Der Wichtigeren Funde Der Ersten Königlich Preussischen Expedition Nach Turfan in Ost-Turkistan. Graz, Austria: Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt, 1979. Print.

Lieu, Samuel N. C., and Gunner B. Mikkelsen. Between Rome and China: history, religions and material culture of the Silk Road. Brepols, 2016.

Mirecki, Paul A, and Jason BeDuhn. Emerging from Darkness: Studies in the Recovery of Manichaean Sources. Leiden: Brill, 1997. Print.

Weber, Dieter. Iranian Manichaean Turfan Texts in Publications Since 1934: Photo Edition. London: Published on behalf of Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum by School of Oriental and African Studies, 2000. Print.

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Who Does History Belong To?

Since Anthropology and historical preservation became priorities in Western Civilization, Western culture has felt a sense of entitlement, as if it was within their right to take what they wanted from where they wanted in the name of preservation. Does the intent to preserve an artefact trump a culture’s ownership of that artefact? Does the answer vary depending on the kind of culture; ie, a religious symbol as opposed to historical or ornamental statuary? What about current relevancy, does an artefact become more or less protected if it was from a time and culture totally irrelevant to the modern society of that geographical area? 

The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas brings all these things to mind. Here we see a political-religious group coming into conflict with preservation efforts. Even taking into consideration the violent actions of the Taliban, one could make an argument that any portion of people from that culture’s population has more right to decide what to do with their artefacts than a foreign organization. Of course, in this case, the local government was in full support of the preservation efforts and so that argument does not quite apply, but the question still stands. 

Flood gives some extraordinary insight into Islamic ideas on iconography and how scholars and cultures should not uncritically accept religious ideals without putting them into the proper historical context. He also brings up the point of South Asian iconophilism, if one of those communities in a few hundred years became Islamic, would they have the right to destroy statues put up today? Who would be entrusted with that decision? HIstory and its artefacts should, in principle, be owned by the culture they come from, but this is not always a clear idea or concept as it might initially seem. 

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Composition of a Nation

When reading Gaubatz’s ‘Looking West Towards the Mecca’, it got me thinking about what makes up national identity. The Islamic growth within China was due partially to the support of Genghis Khan, so at some level, one could say that the foreign Mongolian rule of China caused the growth of the Islamic communities within the state. Does this then make Islam not a true part of China, that the communities are small foreign pockets, remnants of a foreign leader? I think it would be unreasonable to say such a thing, the Muslim-Chinese people are as deep and entwined a part of the Chinese landscape as any other religious group. They are certainly more prominent and numerous than many Chinese indigenous groups. Gaubatz goes into depth explaining how they are a large part of the urban culture, integrated into the urban form of Chinese cities. So while the national image of China might not include the Islamic settlements and practitioners who reside within, it does exist as part of the national landscape. 

Cultural and religious diversity can improve a nation, to think of all the Jewish communities, the Chinatowns, the Little Italys scattered throughout North and Central America, adding to the overall cultural experience. The weaving of immigrant communities, yes, but more than that. It is the multi faceted nature of cultures, languages, belief systems, that make up a nation. A nation defined by its utter homogeny brings forth ideas of borderline dystopic utopias, white supremacy, the desire to make everything the same never ends well. Diversity, in religions, in historical practices, in the making of a nation, is what makes something strong. And just like many cultures, things adapt, as we see in Gaubatz’s text, the architectural expression of the Muslim Chinese is meant to set them apart. They want to maintain their unique identity in this landscape, and yet the identity is not entirely cohesive. 

In the different cities examined, we see diversity even within the Muslim-Chinese groups, they choose the express themselves and their communities differently, they choose to form their identities within the surrounding culture in their own unique ways. Even the ‘same’ pocket of a religious group in China can be very diverse. What makes a nation is not its anthem, nor its flag, it is the people. And the diversity, discussion, cooperation and even disagreements among those people is what makes a nation what it is. 

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Cycles of History

The class textbook has been an essential part of our readings throughout the semester. It has walked us through centuries of historical progress, the rise and fall of empires, religions, institutions, and this pattern has never been clearer in than in this last chapter. Buddhism is all but extinct from its country of origin, Manicheism is now essentially extinct, religions that once ruled huge expanses of the world, now nearly unheard of. There is a temporality to all of these things, the empires of Christianity and Islam will grow and fade just like all the others. The world powers now will eventually turn into memories, excavated. Studying the silk road, studying any sort of ancient history, really contextualizes the present moment and your place in it. Even now in an increasingly secularized world, we see different forms of worship taking place. For example, nationalism, capitalism, various political loyalties which seem to entwine with religion, belief systems, until they’re nearly inseparable. After all, who hears American Nationalism and doesn’t fill in the idea of some sort of radical Christian? Iraqi Nationlism and doesn’t think of Islam? These things get tied up and distorted, 

“And just as a Silk Road merchant 15 centuries ago had to do business within a network dominated by Buddhists, and a few centuries later by Muslims, anyone seeking to enter the global marketplace today must jump on the bandwagon of corporate capitalism or die.” (138) 

This quote sums up my train of thought here. As this book has been guiding us through such complex history, Foltz has drawn out the patterns, teased out the ways that history is endlessly cyclical. Assuming humans as a species survive several thousand more years, I wonder what new belief systems have spread, which ones have died, or perhaps even grown. Will monotheism remain the king of religious trends or will the first world country trend of spiritualism shift into a more theistic based organized religion? 

And so, to steal Foltz’s perfect conclusion,

“For better or worse something new will always rise to take its place, and the cycle will go on.” (139) 

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Unconventional Interfaith Dialogue

Last week we examined the intersection of two cultures and the implications of that, and this week, through Scott’s piece, we see it again. As opposed to looking at how the culture of Judaism and China merge, we are looking at the comparison of two religions (in the more classic sense); Buddhism and Islam. As Scott mentions, often the conversation around interfaith dialogue deals with Christianity’s interactions with other religions. This focus on Christianity is, in my opinion, to be expected somewhat as much scholarship around religion emerged in Christian dominated countries. Today, we should be aware of this and put more focus on exploring the interactions between other religions, how they learn or talk to one another. 

There is, of course, and will always be conflict among religions when they encounter one another. Islam’s issue with the perceived idolatry in Buddhism is significant here, as one example of a conflict that stems from the core beliefs of both faiths. Some conflicts are steadfast and seem like an impossible obstacle to overcome. To what extent can religions with intensely contradicting beliefs systems interact and exchange before this core impasse is reached? Can religious communication even be harmful because it can lead to the discovery of these impasses and close of peaceful living? 

However, assuming religions with differing and even conflicting core beliefs cannot adapt to one another is a mistake. Historically, the common people are perfectly comfortable adopting or abandoning beliefs which suit their epistemological and social needs without internal conflict. Scott shows us how Islam ‘makes room’ for Buddhist values as it spread into Buddhism territory and began interacting with the Buddhist populous. Myths, legends, art, when two religions come together in one people, learn and inform one another they do so in incredibly interesting ways. Interfaith dialogue, especially at the level of the common people, is fascinating and scholars should not just focus on elite or dogmatic claims about ‘pure’ religious traditions.

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This Jade Chime bell is from the Kaifeng Synagogue, used to call worshippers to service. Part of the ROM’s small silk road exhibit, it is a small representation of the mysterious Kaifeng Jewish community. The inscription on the chime reads as such; The Jade Chime which calls to the spirits of the departed and the living (Malek 100).  The inscription is telling of the blending of cultures here, I think. The inscription strikes as a distinctly Jewish phrase represented in Chinese characters, but on a Jade stone, a mineral important to Chinese culture. In the words of A.Philipp-Muller; “The Jewish people adapt their cultural practices to their material surroundings.” (2017) The cultural exchange here is symbolic of the meaning the people carried with themselves and their internal traditions. When Jewish people made their way up to China seeking opportunity and safe harbour, they were embraced by the Chinese culture, they embraced it in turn. Creating such displays of mixed traditions, on display and in use of a synagogue, a place of immense religious significance. 

Accompanied by a leaf in Hebrew, these are tiny fragments of what once was. Removed from their home in Kaifeng, they are put on display in Toronto, Ontario in the name of historical education. Here an unlikely, even astonishing, blending of two cultures, is being brought to a third cultural setting to be put on display. Might one day we find such mixtures of Islam and Christianity, Islamic scripture on a Christian symbol of worship? Or did Judaism and Chinese culture blend so seamlessly because they did not have that historical tension that has been so readily established between the Big Three Monotheisms? 

Bibliography

Malek, Roman. From Kaifeng to Shanghai: Jews in China, Steyler Verlag, 2001

Philipp-Muller, A. “Over Cream of Oatmeal.” In My Kitchen, 1 Nov. 2017.

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Avoiding Information Overload

In this chapter of Golden Peaches of Samarkand, Schafer’s evocative writing leads the reader through the T’ang empire and the three large historical periods that define it. Schafer runs through generations of reform with machine gun fire speed, telling us huge historical events in a few cursory lines. This kind of historical retelling has its advantages; of course, it is a fairly decent way to learn a broad chronology of events. At the risk of losing nuance and vital detail, we gain a larger well of information that offers us a larger scope of a historical period. We see this most prominently in the glimpses given into other players on the historical fields, such as the Sassanids (10). Schafer brushes over religious factors lightly, allows a glimpse into trade routes and the foreign influences in T’ang over the period of several hundred years. 

It is the latter subject which Schafer devotes much of his attention, the T’ang empire’s relation with the foreign people inside of their lands and their interactions with geographically distant powers. He spends pages describing the luxuries of foreign nations, letting us glimpse the luxuries and commonalities of foreign powers through the eyes of T’ang period aristocrats. In this way, Schafer keeps on the subject of the T’ang empire and allows the reader a deeper understanding into their aristocratic and mercantile culture while telling us a bit about the world outside of the T’ang as well. 

This style of historical writing can be overwhelming, or seem rather superficial, but becomes more interesting with Schafer’s writing style. He alternates between huge sweeps over information and smaller, more detailed and more human stories. This keeps the reader engaged and absorbing information, instead of being overloaded or bored with an endless barrage of dry facts. 

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Official and Unofficial History

The texts for this week brought up some interesting points about women’s role in ancient society, from wives to mothers to concubines. In state history, they are either erased entirely (ie; the omittance of first names) or depicted as idealized, one-dimensional versions of what societal ideals of women were at that time. Of course, what the ideal of women portrayed by the state is, most likely does not match up with the real world, living, breathing human beings that women are. In Hansen’s and Xiaonan’s pieces, they reveal a history of women with agency and influence, some official, some buried in cultural context and far less state-sponsored. 

Hansen tells us about the An Lushan rebellion and about the aftermath, about Dunhuang Buddhist culture, including the tale of Turnip and his sinful mother. However, it is Precious Consort Yang stands out here because she is not only part of official history but she stands as a division point. At least, according to Hansen. Artisans depicting Yang and the freedom of the females in the emperor’s charge, show her as freer than traditional interpretations; wearing pants, horseback riding (224). Is this just reflective of the emperor of the time, his granting of favours and freedoms to women, or does this hint that a stricter regulation on women is something that only came later? That modern (modern being the last several hundred years) ideas about women’s restrictions and chastity are less than ancient and instead superimposed onto the past. 

This line of thinking is only further confirmed by Xiaonan’s research into the roles of women, how they independence and influence was often erased out of official narratives and have to be excavated out of much more subtle means. How women were heads of household, signed on deeds, were rewarded land when officially that would never be permitted. Especially in a strictly hierarchical Confucian society. Analyzing the roles and actions of women often lends them more credit and makes them more human, in many ways. It also makes us consider what other side to state-sponsored history lays buried in historical data. 

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Buddhism and Narrative Sense

As opposed to tackling the sixty plus pages of what seems to be Valerie Hansen’s attempt to summarize the entire history of Buddhism in China, we’re going to be talking about the advantages of teaching about ritual and religious history through personal narrative sense. The tale of Xuanzang’s through Buddhist shrines and sites of worship is highly detailed and gives a thorough depiction of a Buddhist pilgrimage. Learning about the nuances, historical and geographical sites can be exhausting and difficult to keep in order, chronological timelines aren’t the most interesting nor the most efficient way to educate people.

 I like this pseudo-biography style because it allows for a level of human connection, for a stranger to observe in some capacity. Xuanzang is a vessel for teaching in this instance, he is our eyes to see a glimpse into the Buddhist practice.  When I say our, I mean, the eyes of an outsider. It’s a good tactic to allow for some profane, human connection while venturing into another culture’s spiritual world. From what I understand from the endnotes, this small excerpt is part of a much larger biography of this Buddhist. 

Xuanzang is depicted as a deeply pious individual, and through him, the author is not held to strict academic standards of objectivity. Through Xuanzang we are allowed to experience it, described with the same large emotion this pilgrim must have felt. The author shows us art and sites of worship, their “strength and beauty and power” (7),  providing us with a much more authentic experience than a listing of dates and materials used to make these things. The use of narrative like this, through human eyes, provides a powerful teaching tool.

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The Sogdian People

Before these readings, the Sogdian people and culture were only something I knew about through brief mentions in the footnotes of academic papers. I had not been exposed to their practices or the immense influence or impact they had on the Silk Road, the role they played in connecting cultures and spreading religious practices. Despite having studied the arrival of Buddhism to China, I did not once question how those texts were translated and transported there, or the people that must have had the resources to do so. Especially now having learned of their sophisticated social systems and culturally distinct practice of Zoroastrianism it seems shocking to me the Sogdians are not given more attention. 

Perhaps the Sogdians are so sparsely mentioned because Western academia had only seen them through the lenses of Chinese documents, the only remnants of their culture found far from the Sogdian homeland. Another reason for the lack of Sogdian names in the popular study of the Silk Road is perhaps their willingness to take on Chinese names, so they blend more effortlessly into the larger tapestry of Chinese trade and control of the Silk Road. As historians are largely restricted to studying the Sogdians through Chinese texts, it can be difficult to separate original Sogdian tradition from what they had adopted from Chinese practices; such as their funeral practices. 

Yet, the Sogdians did not just take in or transport, they influenced Chinese metalworking practised and even transferred their artistic styles into mainstream Chinese society. No two cultures intermix without exchange, without influencing one another, sometimes drastically. They even held larger political control as they could choose which rulers to support and sponsor when the rulers maintained peace on the trading routes and held influence as a rich and powerful people. Now that, due to recent excavations, scholars are able to locate Sogdian tombs, perhaps more research and credit will be given to this essential network of people who thrived along the Silk Road.