A study of the Buddhist Manuscript Avataṃsaka Sūtra dedicated by Juqu Anzhou in the Northern Liang Period

Abstract

In the early 20th century, there were numerous Buddhist manuscripts excavated from various sites in Turfan. Among these, at least five pieces of Buddhist Sūtras excavated at Gaochang were dedicated by Juqu Anzhou沮渠安周during 445—457 CE, successor to the throne of the Northern Liang king Juqu Mengxun沮渠蒙遜. One of the fragments is the Buddhâvataṃsaka Sūtra《佛華嚴經卷第廿八》，which is not only the very early manuscript written on paper of the Buddhâvataṃsaka Sūtra before the 5th century, but also the earliest Sūtra dedicated and copied by a king Juqu Anzhou in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Using the fragment of Buddhâvataṃsaka Sūtra as a case study, this article first examines the close communication between the Northern Liang and Southern Dynasty Liu Song; secondly, explores the significant role of the court scribes in the Northern Liang. In addition, based on the fragment of Upāsaka-śīla Sūtra《優婆塞戒經》with certain date（427 CE） and name of scribe（Daoyang）, we discover another fragment of Buddhâvataṃsaka Sūtra from Lushun Museum collection which was certainly written in the Daoyang’s calligraphic style. It further proves the transmission of Buddhâvataṃsaka Sūtra from the south to the north was occurred during the Northern Liang period. Due to the Northern Liang government had strong determination in promoting Buddhism, a solid foundation was laid by the establishment of an organized Buddhist texts translation system as well as a systematized literary or secretarial system. These efforts had a far-reaching impact in the Northern Wei period and later.