. buddhist tantras and chinese culture 437
tantric Buddhism in China as in Tibet, Nepal, or Mongolia (Orzech
2006b, 45–52).
Only a few of the so-called core tantras (e.g., the Guhyasamāja,
Hevajra, Cakrasaṃvara, Vajravārāhī, Kālacakra, and so forth) were
translated into Chinese. Dānapāla (Shihu , active 982–1012)
translated the Guhyasamāja-tantra (Yiqie rulai jin’gang sanye zuishang
mimi dajiaowang jing , T. 885),
and Dharmapāla (Fahu , 963–1058) translated the Hevajra-
[ḍākinījālasambara-] tantra (Dabei kongzhi jin’gang dajiaowang yigui
jing , T. 892) (Matsunaga 1978, 2000;
Snellgrove 1959; Willemen 1983). Several other significant ritual manu-
als (kalpa, yigui ) that have been used by sādhakas in India, Nepal
and Tibet, including the [Avalokiteśvaraguṇa-] Kāraṇdavyūha-sūtra
(Dasheng zhuangyan baowang jing , T. 1050) and
the [Ārya-] Mañjuśrūmūlakalpa (Dafangguang pusazang Wenshushili
genben yiguijing , T. 1191), both
translated by Devaśanti (Tianxizai , a.k.a. Dharmabhadra
[Faxian ], d. 1000), confirm that tantric literature entered the
Chinese Buddhist canon precisely at the time of massive state-sup-
ported efforts to propagate the Buddhadharma, epitomized by the
first printing of the canon in 983 (Shuban da zangjing ).^1
Some scholars have suggested that these texts may have been either
proscribed or had restricted audiences, but there is little evidence to
confirm such claims (Jan 1966; Sen 2002; Orzech 2006b). There is,
however, ample art historical evidence to show that images of some
of the deities from these texts were produced and received veneration
in China.
Within the last millennium in China, as mentioned above, con-
tact between Indian, Nepalese, Tibetan, and Mongolian adherents
of tantric forms of Buddhism interacted with Chinese on a massive
scale across the contemporary (though certainly not static) boundaries
of China. On Buddhist mountains across China, including Mt. Wutai
in Shanxi , Emei in Sichuan , and Putuo
on an island off the coast of Zhejiang ; and at grottoes
(^1) For a discussion of these efforts see Orzech, “Esoteric Buddhism under the Song,”
and “Translation of Tantras and Other Esoteric Buddhist Scriptures,” in this volume.