. esoteric buddhism under the xixia (–) 467
of the Sangha Office, śramaṇa Zhou Huihai ,
translated two texts from Tibetan during the early years of
the Xia emperor Renzong’s reign (1139–1193) (Kychanov 1999; Chen
Bingying 1983). Like the Tibetans, Xia Buddhists saw esoteric teach-
ings as an integral part of the Mahāyāna, as evidenced in the title of
an imperial preceptor: Dacheng Xuanmi Imperial Preceptor
or Mahāyāna Esoteric Imperial Preceptor (Chen 2000; Shen
2005b). Xia Buddhists, of course, were not of one mind about the new
tantric teachings, and the more difficult research on their doctrinal
positions is necessary.
Here “esoteric” refers to specific texts, teachings, and practices asso-
ciated with the second wave of tantra translations in Tibet and its trans-
mitters, as well as to compilations of dhāraṇī, mantra, and related texts
in the Chinese canons available to the Tanguts. It embraces images and
artifacts, such as the magnificent collection of Khara Khoto thangkas in
the Hermitage Museum (Samosiuk 2006). High- and low-ranking sub-
jects of the emperor, especially monks and officials, undertook copying
texts, sponsoring printings of sūtras or ever-popular confessional texts,
commissioning the painting of thangkas and mandalas, and dedicating
shrines (e.g., at Dunhuang and Yulin). Popular objects of veneration
included Maitreya, the Medicine Buddha Bhaisajyaguru (five ̣ thangkas
dedicated to him are in the Khara-Khoto collection), Amitābha, and
Avalokiteśvara, in addition to the tantric cults discussed below.
The evidentiary trail for esoteric Buddhism in Xia thickens consid-
erably from the mid-twelfth century onward, as Tibetan-inspired or
-transmitted Buddhist teachings, texts, and practices infused court-
sponsored Buddhism and popular practices. Underlying this develop-
ment was the dynamism attending the formation of Tibetan teaching
lineages in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Cultural and geographic
proximity, as well as political receptivity to this dynamism, made the
Xia royal court and sangha partners and patrons in the Tibetan renais-
sance of the era (Davidson 2005).
As Tangut struggles with the Song recede from the historical stage
after the third decade of the twelfth century, Tibetan missionary activ-
ity comes into focus and dominates the source record. Shortly thereaf-
ter (1140s), the first Tangut civil law code was produced; it prescribed
the framework of a religious bureaucracy and the normative regulation
of clerical ordination, promotion, and livelihood. The interpenetration
of clerical and secular power in the Xia state structure can be glimpsed