Abstract

Discussions of Chinese Buddhism rarely address the crucial period of transition during which a philosophy from India gradually underwent a process of sinification. The historical record for this period of several hundred years between the Han and Tang dynasties, which coincided with social, political, and cultural upheavals, is sparse. Two key sources for consideration are the Chinese monk Zhi Dun and The Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna. Liu Yiqing ’s A New Account of Tales of the World provides tantalizing glimpses of the philosophical reconfiguration, including mutations of Confucianism and the emergence of Xuanxue in Daoism.