Buddhism And Islam On The Silk Road

In the contemporary world the meeting of Buddhism and Islam is most often imagined as one of violent confrontation. Indeed, the Taliban's destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001 seemed not only to reenact the infamous Muslim destruction of Nalanda monastery in the thirteenth century but also to reaffirm the stereotypes of Buddhism as a peaceful, rational philosophy and Islam as an inherently violent and irrational religion. But if Buddhist-Muslim history was simply repeated instances of Muslim militants attacking representations of the Buddha, how had the Bamiyan Buddha statues survived thirteen hundred years of Muslim rule? Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road demonstrates that the history of Buddhist-Muslim interaction is much richer and more complex than many assume. This groundbreaking book covers Inner Asia from the eighth century through the Mongol empire and to the end of the Qing dynasty in the late nineteenth century. By exploring the meetings between Buddhists and Muslims along the Silk Road from Iran to China over more than a millennium, Johan Elverskog reveals that this long encounter was actually one of profound cross-cultural exchange in which two religious traditions were not only enriched but transformed in many ways.

"In the contemporary world the meeting of Buddhism and Islam is most often imagined as one of violent confrontation. Indeed, the Taliban's destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001 seemed not only to reenact the infamous Muslim destruction of Nalanda monastery in the thirteenth century but also to reaffirm the stereotypes of Buddhism as a peaceful, rational philosophy and Islam as an inherently violent and irrational religion. But if Buddhist-Muslim history was simply repeated instances of Muslim militants attacking representations of the Buddha, how had the Bamiyan Buddha statues survived thirteen hundred years of Muslim rule?" "Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road demonstrates that the history of Buddhist-Muslim interaction is much richer and more complex than many assume. This groundbreaking book covers Inner Asia from the eighth century through the Mongol empire and to the end of the Qing dynasty in the late nineteenth century. By exploring the meetings between Buddhists and Muslims along the Silk Road from Iran to China over more than a millennium, Johan Elverskog reveals that this long encounter was actually one of profound cross-cultural exchange in which two religious traditions were not only enriched but transformed in many ways."

Drawing on the latest research and scholarship, this newly revised and updated edition of Religions of the Silk Road explores the majestically fabled cities and exotic peoples that make up the romantic notions of the colonial era.

Our millennium-old romance with the tales of the ancient Silk Road continues to fascinate us all and shows no signs of abating. Like a phoenix repeatedly rising from its ashes, the memories of the road's ordeals and achievements constantly turn our attention to images of heavily laden camel caravans treading their way amidst a dusty twilight of churning haze. In our minds we bring to life the harmonic footsteps of the camel trains that reduce the sinking sun in the far horizon into a pale reddish disc. Yet like erect sentries, the surrounding majestic snow-capped mountains beckoned the entrepreneurial merchants on foot to riches hidden deep in valleys accessed only through high and perilous passes. These courageous men were the catalyst not only for the trade of their earthly goods but also of the less tangible commodities that promised the receptive ears a paradise in heaven. The author's engaging description of how the world's greatest religions permeated and changed ancient China is augmented by colour photographs taken during the author's personal travels. Here the ancient history of humanity's greatest missionary enterprises is dissected for the reader and highlighted by some of the unknown treasures of the Silk Road. The geographic importance of many ancient areas now occupied by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan are also discussed in the unfolding of this history. With concise narratives the author assesses the legacies of the men of the Silk Road who brought the beliefs of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam into China. Jacob G. Ghazarian, D.Phil. is an independent scholar associated with Wolfson College, University of Oxford where he has conducted his research for more than a decade on the impact of religions upon the socio-political fabric of regional indigenous populations. He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

In this superb photographic study, film-maker Peter Yung presents a breath-taking view of one of the most exotic areas of China: Xinjiang province, the westernmost region of the country. It was here, over 2,000 years ago, that the Silk Road first linked China to the outside world. Once the main thoroughfare for the exchange of goods, culture and art between China, the Middle East and Europe, it was also along this route that the great religions of Buddhism and later Islam were to enter China. Even today, Xinjiang is still a stronghold of Islam. Yung has had the rare opportunity to travel extensively throughout Xinjiang and to penetrate some of its remotest landscape, dominated by vast expanses of desert and spectacular mountain ranges, but also the colorful lifestyles of its minorities' population. The province is home to over ten different tribes, as well as Han Chinese, and in a brief but fascinating text, he describes the rich history and customs of the Uygur people and the nomadic Kazak and Tajik.

When a Chinese monk broke into a hidden cave in 1900, he uncovered one of the world’s great literary secrets: a time capsule from the ancient Silk Road. Inside, scrolls were piled from floor to ceiling, undisturbed for a thousand years. The gem within was the Diamond Sutra of AD 868. This key Buddhist teaching, made 500 years before Gutenberg inked his press, is the world’s oldest printed book. The Silk Road once linked China with the Mediterranean. It conveyed merchants, pilgrims and ideas. But its cultures and oases were swallowed by shifting sands. Central to the Silk Road’s rediscovery was a man named Aurel Stein, a Hungarian-born scholar and archaeologist employed by the British service. Undaunted by the vast Gobi Desert, Stein crossed thousands of desolate miles with his fox terrier Dash. Stein met the Chinese monk and secured the Diamond Sutra and much more. The scroll’s journey—by camel through arid desert, by boat to London’s curious scholars, by train to evade the bombs of World War II—merges an explorer’s adventures, political intrigue, and continued controversy. The Diamond Sutra has inspired Jack Kerouac and the Dalai Lama. Its journey has coincided with the growing appeal of Buddhism in the West. As the Gutenberg Age cedes to the Google Age, the survival of the Silk Road’s greatest treasure is testament to the endurance of the written word.

During the latter decades of the 19th century, popular European fascination with the world beyond reached an all-time high. The British and French empires spanned the globe, and their colonial agents sent home exotic goods and stories. The Silk Route dates from this romantic period, in name if not in reality. In the century since its invention as a concept, the Silk Route has captured and captivated the Western imagination. It has given us images of fabled cities and exotic peoples. Religions of the Silk Route tells the story of how religions accompanied merchants and their goods along the overland Asian trade routes of pre-modern times. It is a story of continuous movement, encounters, mutual reactions and responses, adaptation and change. Beginning as early as the 8th century BCE, Israelite and Iranian traditions travelled eastwards in this way, and they were followed centuries later by the great missionary traditions of Buddhism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam.

This volumes consists of selected papers from the 2004 conference of the Australasian Society for Inner Asian Studies. The papers cover topics relating to Ancient Chorasmia, Sogdia and China, Buddhist and Manichaean art, Middle Iranian manuscripts and Buddhist manuscripts from Afghanistan, Nestorian Christianity and contemporary Islam, Silk Road clowns and headcoverings of Central Asia. The collection highlights the range and depth of Australasian scholarship on Inner Asia and demonstrates that there are still many unexplored aspects of Silk Road Studies. Table of Contents: Part 1: Chorasmia, Sogdia and Uzbekistan: Alison V.G. Betts and V.N. Yagodin, Tash-k'irman-tepe Cult Complex: An Hypothesis for the Establishment of Fire Temples in Ancient Chorasmia - Dee Court, The Ordinary and the Extraordinary in Central Asian Headcoverings - Fiona Kidd, The Early Medieval Necropolis at Pap in the Ferghana Valley (Republic of Uzbekistan) - Michelle Negus-Cleary, Walls in the Desert: The Phenomenon of Central Asian Urbanism in the Kingdom of Ancient Chorasmia. Part 2: Christianity and Manichaeism: Samuel Lieu, Manichaean Art and Architecture Along the Silk Road - Vladimir Li?ak, Early Chinese Christianity in the Tang Empire: On the Crossroad of Two Cultures - Geoff Watson, The Ultimate Evangelical Away Game: British Missionary Endeavour in Central Asia c. 1830-1930. Part 3: Buddhism and Islam: Mark Allon, Recent Discoveries of Buddhist Manuscripts from Afghanistan and Pakistan and their Significance - Ken Parry, The Buddha as Colossus in Central Asia and China - Colin Mackerras, Religion in Contemporary Xinjiang. Part 4: Silk Road Exchanges: Holly Adams, Clowns on the Silk Road - Peter Edwell, Palmyrene Art, Architecture and Religion on the Euphrates: The Early Evidence for a Palmyrene Community at Dura Europos.