In the era of the Bohai State, the first signs of the penetration of Buddhism appeared in the cultures of ethnic populations (Heishui Mohe, Amur Jurchens) in the Amur basin. During the creation of the Jin Empire, Buddhism was supported by the ruling dynasty, the aristocracy, and began to spread among the people. In this era, Buddhism was penetrating further and further into the territories of the Lower and Middle Amur. Its presence is marked by the construction of Buddhist temples, as well as the appearance of other cultural elements reflecting Buddhist aesthetics and semantics, and funeral rites. In general, the boundaries of the Buddhist culture within the territory of the Amur basin correspond quite accurately to the borders of the Jin Empire in this area. Buddhist culture did not expand beyond the northeastern outskirts of the Jin Empire. Therefore, the Amur region within the Jin borders should be considered as the north-easternmost region of Eurasia, where Buddhist culture began to spread in the era of the early and developed Middle Ages.
Key words: Buddhism, Amur River basin, Bohai, Jin, Heishui Mohe, Buddhist sculpture, Buddhist temples, funeral rites, cremation
DOI: 10.22250/20728662_2023_1_29
About the author
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Wang Junzheng – Master of Historical Sciences, Postgraduate student of the Department of Religious Studies and History, research fellow at the Laboratory of Frontier Studies, Amur State University; 21 Ignatievskoe shosse, Blagoveschensk, 675027, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |