the history of buddhism among the mongols 381
and 1209, during his campaigns against the Xixia empire, the
empire of the Tangut (Tib. Mi-nyag; Mong. Tangud, Qasin Irgen)
(982–1227).^8 This empire stretched from the Nanshan Mountains
and the Takla Makan to the Ordos bend of the Yellow River. The ter-
ritory in which the Tanguts settled was an old Buddhist site in which
Central Asian, Chinese, and Tibetan Buddhism met and a peculiar
Tangut form of Buddhism developed.^9 The in uence of Tangut Bud-
dhism in Mongolia appears to have been much greater than has been
generally accepted to the present day. In the course of the excavations
at the so-called palace-hills on the grounds of the Mongolian imperial
capital Karakorum, fragments of sculptures and frescos have been found
which are representative of the style of the Tangut art of Qara Qota
(Khara Khoto) in the northwest of present-day Inner Mongolia.^10
Apart from Tangut communities of monks, there were also Tibetan,
Chinese, and Tangut-Chinese communities in Xixia.^11 It goes without
saying that these cannot have remained unknown to the Mongolian
aggressors. We do not know whether Tangut and Chinese monks of
Xixia visited Mongolia. However, there are indications that Tibetan
bKa’-brgyud-pa and Sa-skya-pa monks of Xixia came to Mongolia
and even met inggis Khan there. Mentioned by name are gTsang-
pa Dung-khur-ba, a disciple of Zhang Tshal-pa brTson-’grus-grags-pa
(1123–1193), the founder of the Tshal-pa bKa’-brgyud-pa, and Zi-na
dGe-bshes, a learned Sa-skya-pa monk. inggis Khan is reported to
have been so favourably struck by gTsang-pa Dung-khur-ba that he
granted the Buddhist clergy exemption from taxes.^12
1.3. inggis Khan, His Successors, and Chinese BuddhismDuring his campaign against the Jin state (Mong. Altan Ulus,
1115–1234) that lasted from 1211 to 1216, inggis Khan encountered
representatives of Chinese Buddhism. Already in 1214, the thirteen-
year-old monk Haiyun (1202–1257) paid his respects to him.^13
Haiyun belonged to the Chan or Meditation school (Chin. chanzong
(^8) Or 1038–1227. The year 1038 marks the formal commencement of the Xia state
and the Tangut imperial history. See Dunnell 1996, pp. xiii–xiv.
(^9) For the Buddhist art of Khara Khoto, see Pjotrowskij 1993.
(^10) Hüttel 2005, p. 145.
(^11) Kytschanow 1993, p. 56.
(^12) oyiúi 1998, pp. 122–125.
(^13) On Haiyun, see Franke 1952, pp. 173–175; oyiúi 1998, p. 126.