Chinese Buddhist Narratives in Light of Indian Sources: A Case Study of the Sudāna/Vessantara Jātaka’s Reception in Early Medieval China

What is it about?

The Vessantara Jātaka (also called the Sudāna Jātaka in its Chinese versions) is one of the most renowned and widely circulated jātakas, or birth stories of the Buddha, in the Buddhist world._x000D_ How was the story understood by its Chinese audience when it was transmitted from India to China alongwith the spread of Buddhism? _x000D_ Rich remains of texts and arts accounting the story show an intriguing dynamic of interactions between its textual and visual traditions. This study unravels the fascinating, multilayered, and multifaceted history of appropriating the story into the Chinese religious and visual landscapes.

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