Responsibility
(author): Kieschnick, John
Title
(): The Impact of Buddhim on Chinese Material Culture
Details
(place)Princeton, New Jersey: (publisher)Princeton University Press, 2003
Identifier
KIESCHNICK 2003
Comments
This is an excellent survey on the impact of Buddhism on Chinese material cuture, as exemplified by the historical development of a number of material items such as Buddhist relics; images; the monks' robes; religious books; monasteries; chairs; sugar; tea; etc.
Information basis
CA
Electronic Version
Referred from
ASH: 舍利 (p.29-52)[nt role which relics played in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Kieschnick concludes: "In the case of relic pellets (sheli), sacred power was vague and impersonal, a living source of light that could appear from nowhere and at times reproduce itself. Devotees occasionally perceived other objects such as particular Buddhist scriptures, rosaries, or other belongings of holy figures as having this same power, but these objects were not accorded sacred power as consistently as relics were. This perception of the power of relics did not spring from a more general belief in a sacred man-like force present in all things; only a very limited number of objects were conceived in this way." (p.80)...]ASH (p.29-51)[The history of relics in China]BUDDHIST GARMENT: 三衣 (p.89ff)BUDDHIST GARMENT: 紫衣 (p.100-107)BUDDHIST GARMENT: 袈裟 (p.89f.)[nt colors (often indicating different schools), ranging grey, brown, to black until ca. the tenth cent.; afterwards the color of the robes got gradually standardized; the monks' robe was a powerful symbol for the Buddhist clergy and becoming a monk was often described in terms of changing garment; there is an abundancy of writings concerning the outfit for monks throughout Buddhist history in China.......]BUDDHIST GARMENT (p.86-107)[in Indian Buddhist texts the typical garment for monks was described of consisting of three items: a rectangular piece of cloth which was wrapped around the waist, covering the lower part of the body (this inner robe, skr. antarv$asa) was always worn, also during periods of work; another piece of cloth was draped over the left shoulder (upper garment, skr. uttar$asa$nga), covering the upper part of the body; third robe, the upper garment (skr. sa$mg$a$ti) was usually worn when the monk was in the public, for examples on begging tours; although the basic design of this outfit is quite simple, there were many complex variations concerning these robes and the outer robe could be made several strips (tia2o 條) of cloth (usually 5, 7, 9, 13, 15, or even more; each stip consists of several patches, ge2 隔); there were also careful descriptions how to sew a robe, using different kinds of stiching technics; in China there were many controversies concerning the proper style of monks' robes; in the course of time the robe was highly charged with symbolism the the three robes sometimes represented different sets of Buddhist terms (e.g. the three poisons greed, anger, and ignorance and their respective elimination; another symbolic connection were the three realms 三界 or the three assemblis 三會). There is evidence that the original Indian style of robe was brought to China, but underwent changes in the course of time, and there was an adaption to Chinese customs, climate, etc. Gradually, there deveoped the sleeved robe, typical of East-Asian Buddhism, usually combined with trousers; at the end of the Tang - after having been criticised for long periods of time - this style of robe seems to have been firmly established; the outer robe - originally also a rectangular piece of cloth - became heavily charged with symbolism and were still made of a number a patches; however, although originally symbolizing the poverty of a monk, often the outer robe is China (and later Japan) was eventually made of especially fine and colorful materials, becoming a status symbol for high-ranking priests. In order to hold the robe in place, eventually a ring and ribbon (gouniu 鉤紐) was attached to it. In medieval China there was also an extended discussion about the use of silk for monks' robes since the production of silk involved the taking of life; however, eventually the use of silk was firmly established since it also was the easiest obtainable material....]CHAIR (p.222-249)GARMENT (p.86-115)[A description of the history of monastic uniforms.]PEARL (p.116-137)[A history of the rosary in China]SUGAR (p.249-262)TEA (p.262-275)