Serindia : vol.1 / 60 ページ（カラー画像）

0060	Serindia : vol.1
セリンディア : vol.1

Section III.—UDYĀNA IN CHINESE RECORDS OF T'ANG TIMES

Hsüan-
tsang's visit
to Udyāna.

The expansion of Chinese political influence westwards which soon followed the accession of the T'ang dynasty early in the seventh century, is marked also by a considerable increase in the information which Chinese records have preserved about the 'Western Regions' and India. In the case of Udyāna, the advantage derived from this is mainly through the detailed account which Hsüan-tsang, the great 'monk of the T'ang period', has left of his visit to this territory about the year A.D. 630. Here, as elsewhere, in the vast area covered by his travels, there is reason to regret that the pious pilgrim's attention was so closely riveted upon matters of sacred tradition and doctrine to the exclusion of more worldly interests. Thus, for example, he fails to mention whether the kingdom of Wu-chang-na 烏枝那 was then one of the twelve dependent territories of the ruler of Chia-pi-shih or Kābul, or had a king of its own as a notice of the T'ang Annals seems to prove for A.D. 642.¹ As in Gandhāra, Hsüan-tsang found Buddhism here fallen from its once flourishing condition described by the earlier pilgrims. Yet the traditional fame of the region was still great enough to induce him to give a general description of the country and people which presents distinct points of interest.

Description
of Udyāna
in Hsi-yü-
chi.

Hsüan-tsang started for Udyāna northward from the city of Udabhāṇḍa or Und on the Indus and reached it after six marches across mountains and valleys.² He describes it as being more than 5,000 li in circumference, and comprising mountains and valleys, marshy plains and elevated plateaus, a description which correctly reflects the varied configuration of Swāt ground. The products of the soil, though varied, were not plentiful. There was abundance of grapes, but only little sugar-cane. The country produced gold, iron, and saffron ;³ there was a vigorous growth of forest, and flowers and fruit-trees flourished. Cold and heat were moderate, with wind and rain at regular seasons. The people were of a soft and pusillanimous character, and by nature inclined to craft and deceit. They were fond of study, but did not pursue it with ardour. The science of magical formulae had become with them an art and a profession. They were chiefly dressed in white calico. Their spoken language, in spite of some differences, bore much resemblance to that of India. The same applied to their written characters and their manners.⁴

The people
of Udyāna.

The description of the physical conditions here given is in close accord with the actual aspects of the country. What is said of the character of the people can be explained partly by the debilitating influence which extensive rice cultivation, as practised in Lower Swāt, is known to exercise upon Eastern races; an influence which the present Pathān settlers, too, relatively recent immigrants as they are, are believed to be undergoing. The reputation which Udyāna enjoyed as a home of magic is reflected in the legend which Sung Yün heard in Sarīkol of a king who, in order to overcome a wicked dragon of that region, proceeded to Udyāna, and after having there studied the magical incantations of the Brahmans for four years, returned and successfully exorcized the Nāga.⁵ This practice of magical rites must have been closely bound up with the special prevalence of the Mahāyāna form of Buddhism in these parts. Hence Sir Henry Yule's just observation : 'The doctrines of Sakya, as they prevailed in Udyāna in old times, were probably strongly tinged

国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

引用情報

OCR読み取り結果

国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト 『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

引用情報

OCR読み取り結果

国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ