The Spread of Buddhism

the spread of buddhism in serindia 95

hymn (Yasna) to Wt (W’t) the Wind-god. Moreover, it prescribes wearing

a wolf-skin and to imitate a wolf, or to sacri ce animals such as frogs

or calves. Practices comparable to those described in P.3 are mentioned

in the Xin Tangshu for Mazdean Sogdiana.^92 Such a debased

Buddhism, nurtured with Mazdeism or Daoism, fed a kind of religious

pidgin strongly magical in character. A Mazdean-Daoist-Buddhist mix-

ture spread outside Central Asia: Empress Dowager Ling (died 528)

of the Northern Wei (386–535), a Mongolian dynasty who had

made Buddhism almost a state religion,^93 invited a “monk Mithra” (or

a “monk of Mithra”), composed hymns in praise of the Sacred Fire,

but at the same time built Buddha statues.^94

2.3.3. Sogdian Buddhism as a “Colonial” Phenomenon

The only counterargument for the origin of Sogdian Buddhism in

emigrated colonies in China and in the Tarim Basin is that archaeo-

logical traces for Sogdian trade are wanting for the Kua period, so

that Naymark (2001, pp. 68f.) even surmised that Sogdian emigration

did not begin until the end of the third century, as a consequence of

the Sassanian invasion. This view somewhat abuses of the a silentio

argument and is contradicted by the evidence. Negative and positive

refutations need to be taken into account:

Negative refutations

(i) Trade involved only a very low volume of goods, thus leaving but

scant traces, if any. If it were not for the Ancient Letters, we would have

no trace of Sogdian trade for the fourth century. In some respects,

Sogdiana even stood outside the internatio nal Sogdian trade.^95 Sogdian

merchants, for instance, made use of Persian gold coins, but these

coins were rarely found in Sogdiana proper (where local bronze coins

circulated).

(ii) From the  rst to the seventh century, the dominant cultures (not

only in Central Asia, but in China as well) were Indian and Iranian,

the borrowing one was China: there are many more Iranian loanwords

(^92) Xin Tangshu (New History of the Tang, 618–906), vol. 20, scroll 221,
p. 6244 (tr. Chavannes 1903, p. 135: “Le onzième mois, ils battent du tambour et
dansent pour demander le froid”). 93
Eberhard 1949, pp. 228–234, 236–237, 333–335; Sat 1978, pp. 39f.
(^94) Weishu (History of the Wei), vol. 2, scroll 13, pp. 337–340 (Liu Ts’un Yan
1976, pp. 13f.). About Daoism at the Wei court, see Mather 1979.
(^95) La Vaissière 2002, p. 169.
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