轉輪王觀念與中國中古的佛教政治
康 樂The Concept of Cakravartir~ jan and its Influence on Medieval Chinese Kingship
Kang Le
Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
Cakravartir~ jan is the title given to the ancient India’s legendary sage kings, a concept later adapted by Buddhists. After Buddhism’s successful conquest of China during the medieval period, Chinese rulers unhesitatedly utilized Buddhism as a resource for claiming legitimacy. The concept of Cakravartir~ jan was one of their major appeals to this end. By analyzing the transformation of the original Indian model of “one Budda-one Cakravartir~ jan” into the Chinese model of “Cakravartir~ jan is Budda himself”, this essay provides a case study for the understanding of the “sinicization” of Buddhism in medieval China.