Shangqing Pearl as an Interesting Literary Example of Cultural Confluence of Buddhism and Taoism,and Similarities and Differences between the Stories of Shangqing Pearl and Yulongzi
From the Han to the Tang Dynasties, the Silk Road not only served as an important window to the exchanges of material civilizations of China and other countries, but it also advanced the exchanges and integration of Chinese and foreign religious civilizations. In view of this, Professor Fang Guangchang put forward a valuable academic proposition ″Cultural Confluence.″ Taoism, a representative of Chinese indigenous religion, converged with Buddhism on the Silk Road, and the cultural confluence of the two religions provided rich material for later novelists. Collections of short stories in the Late Tang Dynasty, such as Youyang Zazu (The Miscellany of the Youyang Mountains, written by Duan Chengshi) and Duyang Zabian (The Duyang Miscellany, written by Su E), all tell a story about Shangqing Pearl which was dedicated to Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji) by King of Kapisa. It is worth noting that King of Kapisa named Shangqing Pearl as the Taoist Shangqing Paradise, which catered to Li Longji, who had adopted a series of Taoist-worship measures after he became an emperor. After Emperor Xuanzong got Shangqing Pearl, whether he gave it to his son Li Heng or to his grandson Li Yu, he used it to prove the legitimacy of the inheritance of the throne, as Shangqing Pearl was the symbol of Chakravartin with enormous political authority and religious sanctity. In other words, the novelists offered a Buddhist evidence for the throne heritage of three generations from Li Longji to Li Heng and Li Yu. Besides, novelists narrated the magical performances of Shangqing Pearl after it reappeared in the palace, such as Li Heng and Li Yu seeing the scene of immortals and fairies moving in the flash of the pearl, and the efficacy of piously incanting the pearl. All of these narrations were based on Buddhist scriptures. In short, although the narrative framework of the story of Shangqing Pearl is borrowed from the Taoist Shangqing Paradise, the core elements of the story largely come from Buddhist scriptures. Therefore, the story is regarded as a representative and interesting literary example in the cultural confluence of Buddhism and Taoism on the Silk Road. In addition, Zheng Chuhui, a contemporary of Duan Chengshi, related the story of Yulongzi in Minghuang Zalu (The Minghuang Miscellany). In comparison with Yulongzi in terms of the relationship between the characters, the plots and the moral, the story of Shangqing Pearl is basically a replica. The two are similar in that they both used the ″cross-border narrative.″
李小荣. 上清珠: 佛道文化汇流的文学趣例——兼论与玉龙子故事之异同[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2016, 2(4): 27-37.
Li Xiaorong. Shangqing Pearl as an Interesting Literary Example of Cultural Confluence of Buddhism and Taoism,and Similarities and Differences between the Stories of Shangqing Pearl and Yulongzi. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2016, 2(4): 27-37.