Beneath Sensationalized Conflict: Buddhist Conjugal Relation in Early Medieval China

Abstract

It is often overlooked that women were highly regarded in Buddhist literature for their indispensable contribution to the family welfare. In the Śrgalavadasūtra, whose earliest translation into Chinese is traditionally attributed to the Parthian monk An Shigao (d. 168), fulfilling the husband-wife relationship was singled out as one of the ethical cornerstones of a blessed and prosperous family, and the wife is given due credit for familial prosperity. The scripture was translated at least nine other times in South China from the fourth to the fifth centuries, suggesting that Buddhist wisdom was sought to manage household life. The popularity of the Śrgalavadasūtra indicates that a wife of Buddhist faith and devotion was considered to be crucial to familial peace and prosperity. More importantly, the Buddhist advice given in the Śrgalavadasūtra is fully consistent with Confucian instructions on the husband-wife relation, demonstrating a seamless and uncompromised Buddho-Confucian integration that had been overshadowed by the sensationalized conflict between the two doctrines in early medieval times. This paper analyzes the various translations of the Śrgalavadasūtra, compares them to Confucian instructions on the husband-wife relationship, and contextualizes their popularity in early medieval Chinese society. It argues that the Buddhist notion of family articulated in the Śrgalavadasūtra and introduced in the midst of much conflict between Buddhism and Confucianism in medieval times, in fact contributed to the development of the ideal of family in imperial China.