Paramārtha’s Ultimate Truth and the Development of Chinese Buddhism’s Ultimate Truth

This paper discusses the development of ideas of the ultimate in the thought of Chinese Buddhism in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The concept of ultimate truth is, along with that of conventional truth, a core concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism. During the Sui Dynasty, Chinese Buddhism developed the unique perspective of the Three Truths, the foundation for which was formed during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. This begins with Jie jie Jing 解節經 (in full, Foshuo Jiejie Jing 佛說解節經) by Paramārtha (499–569), which is a partial translation of Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and presents the theory of ultimate truth (paramārtha) to Chinese Buddhists. Through a comparison of Jiejie Jing with other Chinese and Tibetan translations of Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra, we establish Paramārtha’s thoughts on the ultimate. The relationship between Paramārtha’s thought on the ultimate and the development of the Three Truths is evaluated in a comparison of Paramārtha’s thoughts on ultimate truth with the thinking of nearly contemporary Chinese monks.

Analysis of the visual language of lotus patterns in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties

Lotus is one of the traditional Chinese patterns that runs deep in the history of China. During the rule of Wei and Jin dynasties, as well as Northern and Southern dynasties (222 – 589 AD), Buddhism teaching has become widespread in China. Buddhism affected the traditional Chinese lotus patterns in terms of the used artistic means and methods of expression. Analysis is conducted on manifestation and evolution of the artistic form of the lotus pattern in Chinese culture, as well as the changes in its artistic means of expression and graphics based on the information described in the scientific literature dedicated to artefacts. The conclusion is made that the development and evolution of decorative patterns is often a result of interaction of different cultures and forms of art, rather than continuation of one or another single line. The author summarizes the common artistic form of lotus patterns of this period, as well as the basis of the visual language of lotus patterns and its development. The artistic style of this period under review remains in a relatively stable transitional stage from the perspective of formal expression.

Luminescence Dating of Relics in Ancient Cities Provides Absolute Dates for Understanding Human-Land Relationships in Qinghai Lake Basin, Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

The study of ancient city sites provides valuable evidence for understanding human-land relationships. Qinghai Lake Basin, on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, was a key location for economic and cultural exchanges between East and West in ancient China and archaeological surveys have identified the remains of many ancient cities. Although there are relatively good historical records for some ancient cities, their absolute ages are still unclear due to a lack of systematic chronological dating. In this study, OSL dating of ceramic and tile remains from three ancient cities in Qinghai Lake Basin, Xihaijun (XHJGC), Beixiangyang (BXYGC), and Fuxi (FSC), was combined with documentary and paleoclimate evidence to investigate historical human-land relationships. Relics from XHJGC and BXYGC were dated to 0–220 AD, in the Han Dynasty, while tiles from FSC were dated to 120–520 AD, largely corresponding to the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties. Luminescence ages were generally consistent with dates recorded in historical documents, indicating that the OSL method can be reliably used to date buried tiles in ancient cities on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Comparing the dates with paleoclimatic records suggests that the warm and humid climate at c. 2 ka was an important driver of immigration to the region that led to the construction of cities in the Qinghai Lake area during the late Western Han Dynasty. During the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties (220–589 AD), communication between East and the West flourished, and human activities in the area were strong with the continuation of the war in Central China and Hexi Corridor. Fuxi was largely abandoned in the later Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties, although it was still used intermittently until the Ming Dynasty. Pollen records confirm that humans were extensively engaged in agricultural production in the Qinghai Lake area during the Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties.

Writing media, script styles and literary forms: Reasons behind the development of the writing system during the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties and its significance

The graph zhi 纸 in the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties is of great significance and profound influence. The writing system during this period experienced a rapid development, leading to various script styles that met the demand of all kinds of literary forms and occasions. The development of script style is more directly related to the development of literary forms, especially written literature. Besides the development in the regularization of the writing system, the full preparation of script styles results mainly from material and social factors. Material factors refer to the change of writing media, namely the fact that paper became daily writing material during the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties, and social factors are the accumulation of family education and the social atmosphere of advocating calligraphy. The literature of the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties has its own track of development and its particular literary forms and genres. The consideration of the development of script style and the transformation of writing media during this period will help us discover some internal connection.