From the “Barbarian Teachings” to “Han Buddhism”: the Role of the Foreign Factor in the Establishment of the Buddhist Tradition in China // BSU bulletin. Philosophy. - 2026. №2. . - С. 55-61.

From the “Barbarian Teachings” to “Han Buddhism”: the Role of the Foreign Factor in the Establishment of the Buddhist Tradition in China

DOI: 10.18101/1994-0866-2026-2-55-61 UDK: 94 (510)

The article studies the role of foreigners (Hu) in the dissemination and institutionalization of Buddhism in early medieval China. It focuses on analyzing why natives of the Western Regions (Central Asia and India) played a pivotal role in transmitting the teachings, as well as on the specific ways the Chinese civilization received Buddhism. The study examines the initial stage of Buddhist penetration, when it was perceived in China as a "barbarian teachings" (Hújiào). Particular attention is paid to the 4th–6th centuries (the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern dynasties), when the northern part of the country was ruled by non-Chinese dynasties. Using the edict of the Later Zhao ruler Shi Hu as a case study, we have demonstrated how foreign rulers, free from Confucian prejudices, legitimized Buddhism at the state level, utilizing it as a tool for ideological consolidation and the reinforcement of their own power. Furthermore, the article analyzes the strategies of cultural and conceptual adaptation employed by foreign missionaries — specifically, the use of Daoist terminology to translate Sanskrit concepts (such as substitution of the category of “Dao” for “Bodhi”), which allowed the new teaching to organically integrate into the Chinese intellectual landscape. It is concluded that the activities of the Hu served as a fundamental prerequisite for the rooting of Buddhism in the Middle Kingdom. The study shows that, having initially established itself as a "court religion", Buddhism underwent significant transformation during its adaptation, including the purposeful editing of texts and the creation of apocrypha. This culminated in the formation of an original tradition of "Han Buddhism". By organically absorbing elements of Chinese culture, it became an integral part of Chinese philosophical thought, distinct from its Indian and Central Asian origins.

Buddhism in China, foreigners (Hu), Hújiào, Northern dynasties, Shi Hu, cultural adaptation, translation of Buddhist texts, sinicization of Buddhism.