A History of Uyghur Buddhism

Johan Elverskog (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

296 Seiten

2024
Columbia University Press (Verlag)
978-0-231-21525-1 (ISBN)

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Today, most Uyghurs are Muslims. For centuries, however, Uyghurs were Buddhists. By around 1000 CE, they, like many of their neighbors, had decisively turned toward the Dharma, and a golden age of Uyghur Buddhism flourished under the Mongol empire. Dwelling along the Silk Road in what is now northwestern China, they stood at the center of Buddhist Eurasia, linking far-flung regions and traditions. But as Muslim power grew, Uyghur Buddhists converted to Islam, rewriting their past and erasing their Buddhist history.

This book presents the first comprehensive history of Buddhism among the Uyghurs from the ninth to the seventeenth century. Johan Elverskog traces how the Uyghurs forged their distinctive tradition, considering a variety of social, political, cultural, and religious contexts. He argues that the religious history of the Uyghurs challenges conventional narratives of the meeting of Buddhism and Islam, showing that conversion took place gradually and was driven by factors such as geopolitics, climate change, and technological innovation. Elverskog also provides a nuanced understanding of lived Buddhism, focusing on ritual practices and materiality as well as the religion’s entanglements with economics, politics, and violence. A groundbreaking history of Uyghur Buddhism, this book makes a compelling case for the importance of the Uyghurs in shaping the course of both Buddhist and Asian history.

Johan Elverskog is Dedman Family Distinguished Professor, professor of religious studies, and, by courtesy, professor of history at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He is the author or editor of ten books, including, most recently, The Precious Summary: A History of the Mongols from Chinggis Khan to the Qing Dynasty (Columbia, 2023).

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Becoming Buddhist
2. Buddhist Politics
3. Buddhist Economics
4. Uyghur Buddhisms
5. Becoming Muslim
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Erscheinungsdatum	13.04.2024
Zusatzinfo	64 b&w illustrations and 16 maps
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	156 x 235 mm
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Religionsgeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Buddhismus
ISBN-10	0-231-21525-8 / 0231215258
ISBN-13	978-0-231-21525-1 / 9780231215251
Zustand	Neuware