214 stephan peter bumbacher
In this early period, the Buddha in China obviously could not be
imagined other than as a deity similar to the dei ed Laozi. However,
whereas Laozi was the dao, the Buddha in the Lihuo lun was made its
ancestor and thus even more elevated. That the author of the Lihuo lun
must have been quite acquainted with the early Daoism can be seen in
the fact that he quotes the Laozi-text no less than eighteen times. He
may also have been familiar with some of the popular Daoist currents
of his time.
As soon as original Buddha vitae were translated into Chinese, this
early picture of the Buddha seems to have been eclipsed by a new one
which in turn would subsequently inform all later Laozi Lives. The rst
of the two earliest-known Chinese versions of the life of Gautama Bud-
dha, the work of two or possibly three translators, namely the Sogdian
Kang Mengxiang as well as the Indians Zhu Dali (Mahbala?)
and Zhu Tanguo (Dharmaphala?), was produced in the early
years of the third century,^62 “presumably in the environs of Luoyang.”^63
This Life of the Buddha in two parts was made into two distinct Chinese
scriptures, the Xiuxing benqi jing (Stra of the [Buddha’s]
Origin and Deeds, Cultivation and Practice) and the Zhong benqi jing
(Middle Stra of the [Buddha’s] Origin and Deeds). Respon-
sible for a later version was Zhi Qian who, after having moved to
the South shortly before 220 AD, completed it sometime between 222
and 229^64 in Southern China where he was active as a high of cial at
the Wu court. Zhi Qian combined and re-edited the whole of the
Xiuxing benqi jing and the rst part of the Zhong benqi jing together with
passages which he took from other sources^65 and made them into the
Taizi ruiying benqi jing.
On the Daoist side, in the decades before 320 AD at least one ver-
sion of Laozi’s vita was compiled that shows remarkable parallels to
the Buddhist Taizi ruiying benqi jing. This Life of Laozi was, in part even
verbatim, worked into the Laozi composite vita that was included by Ge
Hong in his Shenxian zhuan (Lives of Divine Immortals).
Comparing now both biographies we nd the following interesting
points both have in common:
(^62) Zürcher 1991, p. 284. Kohn 1998, p. 116 (n. 4) has “translated around 197 CE”
and refers to Zürcher 1959 (p. 36) who, however, nowhere gives such a precise date.
(^63) Campany 2002, p. 209.
(^64) Zürcher 1959, p. 309.
(^65) Zürcher 1991, p. 284.