Chinese Buddhist Narratives in Light of Indian Sources: A Case Study of the Sudāna/Vessantara Jātaka’s Reception in Early Medieval China

Abstract

The Vessantara jātaka (also called the Sudāna jātaka in its Chinese versions) is one of the most highly renowned and widely circulated jātakas, or birth stories of the Buddha, in the Buddhist world. During the fifth and sixth centuries CE, the story was frequently depicted in Chinese murals and reliefs. Among a few sixth-century reliefs, scenes showing Prince Sudāna in exile appear to have been selected to crystallise the whole story, replacing the focus on Sudāna’s gifting of his children in the previous tradition. This study integrates early Indian sources with other relevant scholarship to explore the reason why Sudāna’s exile was selected. I argue that the choice of depicting Sudāna’s exile was shaped by two historical contexts. The first relates to a specific rhetorical strategy of integrating indigenous Chinese accounts of immortals into the story’s textual tradition in the third century. The second refers to the underlying religious mentality that focused on the quest for transcendence in the mountains, an idea that grew more popular during the flourishing of Buddhist meditation practice in the early sixth century. This article provides further methodological reflections on the study of Chinese Buddhist art, focusing on how important it is to incorporate more Indian sources and scholarship. It therefore engages with ongoing methodological reflections on China-India studies.