record of buddhistic kingdoms-第3节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


are　sure　to　occur；

　　　〃maculae；　quas　aut　incuria　fudit；　　　Aut　humana　parum　cavit　nature；〃

while　on　the　whole　they　very　slightly　affect　the　meaning　of　the　document。

The　editors　of　the　Catalogue　Raisonne　intimate　their　doubts　of　the　good　taste　and　reliability　of　all　Fa…hien's　statements。　It　offends　them　that　he　should　call　central　India　the　〃Middle　Kingdom；〃　and　China；　which　to　them　was　the　true　and　only　Middle　Kingdom；　but　〃a　Border　land；〃it　offends　them　as　the　vaunting　language　of　a　Buddhist　writer；　whereas　the　reader　will　see　in　the　expressions　only　an　instance　of　what　Fa…hien　calls　his　〃simple　straightforwardness。〃

As　an　instance　of　his　unreliability　they　refer　to　his　account　of　the　Buddhism　of　Khoten；　whereas　it　is　well　known；　they　say；　that　the　Khoteners　from　ancient　times　till　now　have　been　Mohammedans；as　if　they　could　have　been　so　170　years　before　Mohammed　was　born；　and　222　years　before　the　year　of　the　Hegira！　And　this　is　criticism　in　China。　The　Catalogue　was　ordered　by　the　K'ien…lung　emperor　in　1722。　Between　three　and　four　hundred　of　the　〃Great　Scholars〃　of　the　empire　were　engaged　on　it　in　various　departments；　and　thus　egregiously　ignorant　did　they　show　themselves　of　all　beyond　the　limits　of　their　own　country；　and　even　of　the　literature　of　that　country　itself。

Much　of　what　Fa…hien　tells　his　readers　of　Buddhist　miracles　and　legends　is　indeed　unreliable　and　grotesque；　but　we　have　from　him　the　truth　as　to　what　he　saw　and　heard。

3。　In　concluding　this　introduction　I　wish　to　call　attention　to　some　estimates　of　the　number　of　Buddhists　in　the　world　which　have　become　current；　believing；　as　I　do；　that　the　smallest　of　them　is　much　above　what　is　correct。

i。　In　a　note　on　the　first　page　of　his　work　on　the　Bhilsa　Topes　（1854）；　General　Cunningham　says：　〃The　Christians　number　about　270　millions；　the　Buddhists　about　222　millions；　who　are　distributed　as　follows：　China　170　millions；　Japan　25；　Anam　14；　Siam　3；　Ava　8；　Nepal　1；　and　Ceylon　1；　total；　222　millions。〃

ii。　In　his　article　on　M。　J。　Barthelemy　Saint　Hilaire's　〃Le　Bouddha　et　sa　Religion；〃　republished　in　his　〃Chips　from　a　German　Workshop；〃　vol。　i。　（1868）；　Professor　Max　Muller　（p。　215）　says；　〃The　young　prince　became　the　founder　of　a　religion　which；　after　more　than　two　thousand　years；　is　still　professed　by　455　millions　of　human　beings；〃　and　he　appends　the　following　note：　〃Though　truth　is　not　settled　by　majorities；　it　would　be　interesting　to　know　which　religion　counts　at　the　present　moment　the　largest　numbers　of　believers。　Berghaus；　in　his　'Physical　Atlas；'　gives　the　following　division　of　the　human　race　according　to　religion：'Buddhists　31。2　per　cent；　Christians　30。7；　Mohammedans　15。7；　Brahmanists　13。4；　Heathens　8。7；　and　Jews　0。3。'　As　Berghaus　does　not　distinguish　the　Buddhists　in　China　from　the　followers　of　Confucius　and　Laotse；　the　first　place　on　the　scale　really　belongs　to　Christianity。　It　is　difficult　to　say　to　what　religion　a　man　belongs；　as　the　same　person　may　profess　two　or　three。　The　emperor　himself；　after　sacrificing　according　to　the　ritual　of　Confucius；　visits　a　Tao…sse　temple；　and　afterwards　bows　before　an　image　of　Fo　in　a　Buddhist　chapel。　（'Melanges　Asiatiques　de　St。　Petersbourg；'　vol。　ii。　p。　374。）〃

iii。　Both　these　estimates　are　exceeded　by　Dr。　T。　W。　Rhys　Davids　（intimating　also　the　uncertainty　of　the　statements；　and　that　numbers　are　no　evidence　of　truth）　in　the　introduction　to　his　〃Manual　of　Buddhism。〃　The　Buddhists　there　appear　as　amounting　in　all　to　500　millions：30　millions　of　Southern　Buddhists；　in　Ceylon；　Burma；　Siam；　Anam；　and　India　（Jains）；　and　470　millions　of　North　Buddhists；　of　whom　nearly　33　millions　are　assigned　to　Japan；　and　414；686；974　to　the　eighteen　provinces　of　China　proper。　According　to　him；　Christians　amount　to　about　26　per　cent　of　mankind；　Hindus　to　about　13；　Mohammedans　to　about　12　1/2；　Buddhists　to　about　40；　and　Jews　to　about　1/2。

In　regard　to　all　these　estimates；　it　will　be　observed　that　the　immense　numbers　assigned　to　Buddhism　are　made　out　by　the　multitude　of　Chinese　with　which　it　is　credited。　Subtract　Cunningham's　170　millions　of　Chinese　from　his　total　of　222；　and　there　remains　only　52　millions　of　Buddhists。　Subtract　Davids'　（say）　414　1/2　millions　of　Chinese　from　his　total　of　500；　and　there　remain　only　85　1/2　millions　for　Buddhism。　Of　the　numbers　assigned　to　other　countries；　as　well　as　of　their　whole　populations；　I　am　in　considerable　doubt；　excepting　in　the　cases　of　Ceylon　and　India；　but　the　greatness　of　the　estimates　turns　upon　the　immense　multitudes　said　to　be　in　China。　I　do　not　know　what　total　population　Cunningham　allowed　for　that　country；　nor　on　what　principal　he　allotted　170　millions　of　it　to　Buddhism；perhaps　he　halved　his　estimate　of　the　whole；　whereas　Berghaus　and　Davids　allotted　to　it　the　highest　estimates　that　have　been　given　of　the　people。

But　we　have　no　certain　information　of　the　population　of　China。　At　an　interview　with　the　former　Chinese　ambassador；　Kwo　Sung…tao；　in　Paris；　in　1878；　I　begged　him　to　write　out　for　me　the　amount；　with　the　authority　for　it；　and　he　assured　me　that　it　could　not　be　done。　I　have　read　probably　almost　everything　that　has　been　published　on　the　subject；　and　endeavoured　by　methods　of　my　own　to　arrive　at　a　satisfactory　conclusion；without　reaching　a　result　which　I　can　venture　to　lay　before　the　public。　My　impression　has　been　that　400　millions　is　hardly　an　exaggeration。

But　supposing　that　we　had　reliable　returns　of　the　whole　population；　how　shall　we　proceed　to　apportion　that　among　Confucianists；　Taoists；　and　Buddhists？　Confucianism　is　the　orthodoxy　of　China。　The　common　name　for　it　is　Ju　Chiao；　〃the　Doctrines　held　by　the　Learned　Class；〃　entrance　into　the　circle　of　which　is；　with　a　few　insignificant　exceptions；　open　to　all　the　people。　The　mass　of　them　and　the　masses　under　their　influence　are　preponderatingly　Confucian；　and　in　the　observance　of　ancestral　worship；　the　most　remarkable　feature　of　the　religion　proper　of　China　from　the　earliest　times；　of　which　Confucius　was　not　the　author　but　the　prophet；　an　overwhelming　majority　are　regular　and　assiduous。

Among　〃the　strange　principles〃　which　the　emperor　of　the　K'ang…hsi　period；　in　one　of　his　famous　Sixteen　Precepts；　exhorted　his　people　to　〃discountenance　and　put　away；　in　order　to　exalt　the　correct　doctrine；〃　Buddhism　and　Taoism　were　both　included。　If；　as　stated　in　the　note　quoted　from　Professor　Muller；　the　emperor　countenances　both　the　Taoist　worship　and　the　Buddhist；　he　does　so　for　reasons　of　state；to　please　especially　his　Buddhist　subjects　in　Thibet　and　Mongolia；　and　not　to　offend　the　many　whose　superstitious　fancies　incline　to　Taoism。

When　I　went　out　and　in　as　a　missionary　among　the　Chinese　people　for　about　thirty　years；　it　sometimes　occurred　to　me　that　only　the　inmates　of　their　monasteries　and　the　recluses　of　both　systems　should　be　enumerated　as　Buddhists　and　Taoists；　but　I　was　in　the　end　constrained　to　widen　that　judgment；　and　to　admit　a　considerable　following　of　both　among　the　people；　who　have　neither　received　the　tonsure　nor　assumed　the　yellow　top。　Dr。　Eitel；　in　concluding　his　discussion　of　this　point　in　his　〃Lecture　on　Buddhism；　an　Event　in　History；〃　says：　〃It　is　not　too　much　to　say　that　most　Chinese　are　theoretically　Confucianists；　but　emotionally　Buddhists　or　Taoists。　But　fairness　requires　us　to　add　that；　though　the　mass　of　the　people　are　more　or　less　influenced　by　Buddhist　doctrines；　yet　the　people；　as　a　whole；　have　no　respect　for　the　Buddhist　church；　and　habitually　sneer　at　Buddhist　priests。〃　For　the　〃most〃　in　the　former　of　these　two　sentences　I　would　substitute　〃nearly　all；〃　and　between　my　friend's　〃but〃　and　〃emotionally〃　I　would　introduce　〃many　are；〃　and　would　not　care　to　contest　his　conclusion　farther。　It　does　seem　to　me　preposterous　to　credit　Buddhism　with　the　whole　of　the　vast　population　of　China；　the　great　majority　of　whom　are　Confucianists。　My　own　opinion　is；　that　its　adherents　are　not　so　many　as　those　even　of　Mohammedanism；　and　that　instead　of　being　the　most　numerous　of　the　religions　（so　called）　of　the　world；　it　is　only　entitled　to　occupy　the　fifth　place；　ranking　below　Christianity；　Confucianism；　Brahmanism；　and　Mohammedanism；　and　followed；　some　distance　off；　by　Taoism。　To　make　a　table　of　per…centages　of　mankind；　and　assign　to　each　system　its　proportion；　is　to　seem　to　be　wise　where　we　are　deplorably　ignorant；　and；　moreover；　if　our　means　of　information　were　much　better　than　they　are；　our　figures　would　merely　show　the　outward　adherence。　A　fractional　per…centage　might　tell　more　for　one　system　than　a　very　large　integral　one　for　another。





THE

TRAVELS　OF　FA…HIEN

or

RECORD　OF　BUDDHISTIC　KINGDOMS



CHAPTER　I

FROM　CH'ANG…GAN　TO　THE　SANDY　DESERT

Fa…hien　had　been　living　in　Ch'ang…gan。＇1＇　Deploring　the　mutilated　and　imperfect　state　of　the　collection　of　the　Books　of　Discipline；　in　the　second　year　of　the　period　Hwang…che；　being　the　Ke…hae　year　of　the　cycle；＇2＇　he　entered　into　an　engagement　with　Kwuy…king；　Tao…ching；　Hwuy…ying；　and　Hwuy…wei；＇3＇　that　they　should　go　to　India　and　seek　for　the　Disciplinary　Rules。＇4＇

After　starting　from　Ch'ang…gan；　they　passed　through　Lung；＇5＇　and　came　to　the　kingdom　of　K'een…kwei；＇6＇　where　they　stopped　for　the　summer　retreat。＇7＇　When　that　was　over；　they　went　forward　to　the　kingdom　of　No