Taklimakan Desert Yields Fabulous Buddhist Ruins

Awesome!  From cntv.cn  Thre is a video but I was not able to embed it, I could not get the code to work right.  So, check out the video at the link (click on the title below).

Buddhist ruins discovered in Taklimakan desert

02-17-2013 08:37 BJT

 

The ruins of a Buddhist temple dating back 1,500 years ago have been discovered in China's largest desert--the Taklimakan in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The findings offer valuable research material for historians studying the development of Buddhism in China.

These historic findings shed light on the development of Buddhism in China. In total there are more than 3,000 pieces of relics. The most eye-catching are the mural paintings. They are executed in a Greco-Buddhist art style, which was seldom seen after the 6th century.

Archaeologist Dr. Wu Xinhua said, "It’s very unique. We’ve never come across such mural paintings in this area before. You can see the fusion of Western and eastern cultures alongside the spread of Buddhism in ancient China."

The treasures are all from a Buddhist temple located in the southern Taklimakan Desert. Excavation was completed in June last year. Experts believe the temple dates back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, about 1,500 years ago.

Dr. Wu said, "The hall is the largest of its kind found in the Taklimakan Desert since the first archaeologist came to work in the area in the 20th century. The structure of the temple is very unique. We believe it is one of the earliest Buddhist temples in China."

The temple has become the point of convergence for scholars studying how Buddhism arrived in China from India, and its early development in the country.

5th Century CE Indian Artifacts Discovered

Photographs! I want photographs! LOL! From the Online Edition of The Hindu 5th century artefacts discovered in West Bengal Raktima Bose Saturday, June 6, 2009 KOLKATA: The arrival of Buddhism in Bengal was till now traced back to the 7th century post-Gupta period. But recent archaeological excavations by the State’s Directorate of Archaeology and Museums at a non-descript village named Dheka in Murshidabad district have thrown up seals and artefacts dating back to the 5th century AD – indicating the presence of the religion in the region much earlier than was previously thought. The site is just 20 kilometres off Karnasubarno, which was considered the earliest Buddhist site in the State and houses the ruins of the ancient Buddhist university of Raktamrittika that finds mention in the travelogues of the famous Chinese pilgrim, Hiuen Tsang (7th century CE Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled to India during the reign on the first Tang Dynasty Emperior, Tai Zong). “The presence of several mounds in the region adjoining Karnasubarno always made me curious,” Amal Roy, superintendent of archaeology at the State’s Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, told The Hindu here on Friday. “So we started excavating at one such site named Deuliapar in February this year and stumbled upon the artefacts.” Among the articles recovered are fragmented stucco figurines, terracotta plaques, earthen lamps, iron nails and slugs, beads, bangles and hopscotch made of terracotta and, most interestingly, terracotta seals inscribed with scripts used way back in 5th century AD. Mr. Roy said that two names – Vijayachandrasya and Vainya – have been deciphered from the seals, though their identities are yet to be established. “We still do not have any concrete evidence as to whether it was a Buddhist site or not. But its close proximity to Karnasubarno and the nature of the artefacts excavated so far are strong indications of its Buddhist affiliation,” Mr. Roy said. The site has three layers, which indicates that it has undergone three phases of construction in the past, starting from the post-Gupta period. Mr. Roy said that the earliest used bricks were large and highly decorated with geometrical patterns. Some were even adorned with stuccos. The later ones were much smaller. Interestingly, archaeologists have lately discovered another site named Ugura, which is not very far from Deulipar, where excavations have revealed Buddhist sculptures inscribed with the image of Lord Buddha. “There is a high possibility that the region housed a flourishing Buddhist centre in early times. The entire picture will become clear once the excavation is completed,” Mr. Roy said. “What we have found till now is just the beginning.”

China's "First Emperor" Banned Buddhism

Article from China View : China Exclusive: China's "first emperor" banned Buddhism, expert says www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-11 19:00:38 XI'AN, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The first emperor of a united China could go down in history not only for the Great Wall or the terra cotta army of guards and horses, but also for his attempt to crush Buddhism that had apparently become prevalent in his days, according to a researcher on Monday. "China's first and most influential history book, the Historical Records, stated clearly that Emperor Qin Shihuang (259 BC-210 BC) strictly banned Buddhism and Buddhist temples," said Han Wei, a noted researcher with Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology. According to the Historical Records, the ban went alongside the emperor's major military strategies including the deportation of the invading Huns, and applied far beyond the ancient capital Xianyang in today's Xi'an to cover the whole country. Though the book, written between 104 B.C. to 91 B.C., provided no evidence of temples destroyed or monks exiled, Han said he believed the ban had been very effective. "Buddhism never appeared again in historical documents until 2 B.C.," Han said. Emperor Qin Shihuang's ban on Buddhism indicated the religion was already popular in China's interior regions in his reign, said Han, whose thesis on the subject was published Friday in Xi'an. Han recommended that textbooks be changed to reflect his discovery. Historians generally believed Buddhism was introduced into China around 67 A.D. in Han Dynasty that succeeded Qin. But Han held it must have spread to China from today's Xinjiang Ugyur Autonomous Region and central Asian countries, along the ancient Silk Road, more than two centuries earlier. Noted Silk Road archaeologist Wang Jianxin said Han's research finding, based on linguistic, historical as well as archeological studies, sounded "reasonable". "Another scholar raised the same hypothesis in the early 1900s,but couldn't provide sufficient evidence." Wang said. Han was one of the experts who helped locate and excavate a finger bone believed to belong to Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. The sarira, or Buddhist relic, had been kept in the underground sanctum of Famen Temple in the suburbs of Xi'an since 874 before it was taken out in 1987. Editor: Chris

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"China's first and most influential history book, the Historical Records, stated clearly that Emperor Qin Shihuang (259 BC-210 BC) strictly banned Buddhism and Buddhist temples," said Han Wei, a noted researcher with Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology. Er, well, guess that goes to show the extent of my lack of education about the spread of Buddhism into China. I thought it had long since spread into the entire area now known as China long before the "First Emperor" (of the so-called united China) took power. That Emperor Qin Shihuang thought the threat of Buddhism was so grave that he banned the practice of its tenets in his empire would seem to demonstrate that it was already well established in China by the time he seized control. Otherwise, why bother banning it?