The Social And Historical Conditions For The Spread Of Buddhism In The Western Xia

From 11^th to 13^th centuries,Buddhism, which disseminated widely in the northwestregion of China, became the state religion of the Western Xia Dynasty and finally dominatedthe spiritual faith of the Tangut People. In this thesis, the author selects the Tangut Buddhismas the study object, and tries to find the causes that bring about the combination of Buddhismand the Western Xia Regime.Here are three major reasons for the spread and development of Buddhism in the WesternXia .Firstly, it was by reason of the firm basis for belief. The Hexi Region and the LongyouArea, which were ruled by Tangut Regime, had been the habitat of the Han People and otherethnic minorities in the early time. Moreover, the Hexi Corridor was the transport hub ofWestern Regions and Middle Plains of China. As early as the Wei, Jin and Southern andNorthern Dynasties period, Buddhism began to disseminate in this area. That laid thefoundation for the future development. During the Late Tang and Five Dynasties period,benefiting from Tibetan, Uighur, Gui Yi Army and other regimes'great efforts to promote andsupport, Buddhist forces obtained a further development. This foundation of belief made theTangut People inherite the Buddhist faith in a relatively high starting point.Secondly, it was because of the worshipping and advocating of the Western Xia rulers.They repeatedly requested Buddhist scriptures from Middle China, constructed the Buddhisttemples, and organized the translation and correction of Buddhist texts on a large scale.Profiting from their strong proponent, believing in Buddhism became a fashion in the WesternXia Dynasty. It had been meat and drink to all social strata. Also profiting from that, thedescendant can not only find Buddhist temples and stupas everywhere in old haunt of WesternXia, but can also read th e"The Tangut Tripitaka"which was translated and edited with WesternXia characters.Thirdly, it's on the ground of the good surrounding environment. During the Western XiaDynasty, its surrounding regimes such as the Northern Song Dynasty, Liao Dynasty, Tibet,Uighurt, etc, mostly believed in Buddhism. This surrounding environment promoted the spreadand development of outside Buddhism in Western Xia. Especially in the Middle and LaterPeriods of the Western Xia Dynasty, the Tibetan Buddhism was imported from its neighboringTibet. It not only injected new content into Western Xia Buddhism, but also made a solidfoundation for further eastward spread of the Tibetan Buddhism. Facing various Buddhistschools, all the rulers of the Western Xia had absorbed them as much as possible. Therefore,the multi-source, multi-level, full of national-characteristics Buddhism took shape in theWestern Xia.