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The Buddhist Re-interpretation of the Legends Surrounding King Mu of ZhouAuthor(s): Thomas JülchSource: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 130, No. 4 (October-December 2010),pp. 625-627Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23044575 .
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The Buddhist Re-interpretation of
the Legends Surrounding King Mu of Zhou
Thomas Julch
University of Munich
King Mu of Zhou was subject to two different legendary traditions in classical Chinese
sources. Both of these traditions were re-interpreted in Buddhism for the purposes of Chi
nese Buddhist apologetic thought. In this paper I will examine how these re-interpretations
worked and in which Buddhist texts they are present.
King Mu of Zhou (modern dating according to Mathieu: 956-918 B.C.; tradi tional dating according to Mathews: 1001-946 B.C.)1 was the fifth king of the Western Zhou
dynasty (1122-770 B.C.). Since early times, King Mu had been the subject of legends. Basi
cally there are two different traditions. One can be extracted from the Mu tianzi zhuan
:f {S (Biography of the Heaven's Son Mu)2 and from the Zhushu jinian 11 (Bam boo Annals),3 and another one is found at the beginning of the Liezi J\\ f, chapter 3 (Gra ham 1960: 61-64). According to A. C. Graham, the present text of the Liezi was composed
towards the end of the third century a.d. (Graham 1961: 197). So the Mu tianzi zhuan, dating
back to 350 B.C. (Mathieu 1993: 342), and the Zhushu jinian, dating back to 299 B.C. (Nivi son 1993: 39-47), would appear to be the older sources.
In the Mu tianzi zhuan and in Zhushu jinian, chapter "Zhouji" we read that King Mu in the seventeenth year of his reign traveled west to meet the Xiwang Mu ffiHI (Queen
Mother of the West)4 at Mount Kunlun sl^r (Fang 2008: 49ff.). In the Mu tianzi zhuan the
banquet the Queen Mother held for King Mu is described. According to the description, the
Queen Mother and King Mu at this occasion exchanged poems. In hers, the Queen Mother
identifies herself as "the daughter of the Celestial emperor" (Yoshikawa 2008).
The account of King Mu given in Liezi, chapter 3, differs from the tradition in the Mu tianzi zhuan and in the Zhushu jinian. In the Liezi, the main part of the story deals with King Mu becoming acquainted with a huaren (fcA (magician), who guided King Mu on a spiritual journey to heavenly places described in the fashion of Daoist divine abodes. Only on the
basis of the impact of this spiritual experience did King Mu undertake his worldly travels,
such as the journey to the Queen Mother of the West.
So basically—with the traditions based on the Mu tianzi zhuan and on the Liezi—there
are two different versions of the legend of King Mu, both of which were absorbed and re
interpreted by medieval Chinese Buddhism. In my monograph discussing the apologetic
scriptures of the Buddhist Tang-monk Falin fe# (572-640; Jiilch 2011), I have touched
upon the Buddhist reception of the older tradition based on the Mu tianzi zhuan. In the
present paper I will analyze the role King Mu played in Buddhism, taking into account the
reception of both traditions in a broader variety of Buddhist sources.
1. Mathieu 1993: 342; Mathews 1943: 1166. It is important to note that the traditional dating differs from the modern dating, since, as we will see later, the Buddhist sources refer to the fifty-second year of King Mu, whereas
according to the modern dating King Mu only reigned for twenty-six years. 2. For research regarding the Mu tianzi zhuan, see Frtihauf 1998-99; Mathieu 1978; Porter 1993. 3. For research regarding the Zhushu jinian, see Keightley 1978; Shaughnessy 1986. 4. For research regarding the Queen Mother of the West see Cahill 1982 and 1993; Friihauf 1999.
Journal of the American Oriental Society 130.4 (2010) 625
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Journal of the American Oriental Society 130.4 (2010)
As explained above, according to the Mu tianzi zhuan, King Mu traveled to Western
regions to meet the Queen Mother of the West. However, in sources of medieval Chinese
Buddhism the story of King Mu traveling to the West is told in a different way. According to
these sources, King Mu's journey was not motivated by the Queen Mother of the West, but
by the Buddha. Since the Queen Mother's location and India, as the place where the Buddha
appeared, were both imagined as being in the West, in the legendary tradition they could
easily be exchanged. King Mu was thought of as a king incumbent during the lifetime of
the Buddha. As we are told in various parts of Falin's apologetic scriptures, the parinirvana
of the Buddha occurred on the fifteenth day of the second month in the fifty-second year of
King Mu 0 (T 2109, p. 481, b24-25). The earliest elaborate account of the story of King Mu traveling to the West to meet the Buddha is found in Falin's
Poxie lun •S&JPtm (T 2109, p. 478, b6-28; Jiilch 2011: 168ff.). There it is related that King Mu saw unknown omens arising in the West, and was afraid that these indicated the arrival of
a new shengren MA (sage ruler) who might terminate the dynasty of the Zhou. So together
with his chancellor, the Marquis of Lti SfH, he undertook his journey to the West to meet his
supposed opponent. However, in the fifty-second year of his rule the omens became graver.
When he asked his adviser, Hu Duo /fi^, he was told that the sage ruler in the West had
entered nirvana. King Mu took it with relief, as he felt that his dynasty would no longer be
endangered.
In Falin, as well as in most of the later references, this account is denoted as a quotation
from the Zhoushu yiji JcOlrlifE. However in the present version of the Zhoushu ylji, this
passage cannot be found.5 The tradition of King Mu traveling to the West because of omens
appearing in connection with the Buddha became very famous in Buddhist literature. In
Falin's own writings we find it mentioned more than once. In abridged versions it re-appears
in a later section of the Poxie lun (T 2109, p. 485, a7-9; Jiilch 2011: 232) and in Falin's main
work, the Bianzheng lun (T 2110, p. 530, a21-24; Jiilch 2011: 558). It is also seen in the Xuji gujin Fodao lunheng (T 2105, p. 398, a2-b2), and in the Fozu
tongji Juan 2 (T 2035, p. 142, c7-12), just to name a few examples. Prior to Falin, brief references to this story are seen in Lidai sanbao ji 1l &C, juan 1 and 12 (T 2034, S. 23, al8; T 2034, S. 104, c25-29; Jiilch 2011: 47).
The version of the King Mu legend presented in the Liezi has also been re-interpreted in
Buddhism. In the Beishan lu Jfclllils juan 1, the account of King Mu given in the Liezi is
quoted elaborately (T 2113, p. 578, a26-bl5). In a postscript the huaren or magician who
guided King Mu on the spiritual journey is identified with the Buddha (T 2113, p. 578, bl5). In the Fayuan zhulin juan 14, we find a similar re-interpretation. Here it is said
that the magician was in fact a combination of Manjusri and Maudgalyayana RiS, while the heavenly abodes, being described as Daoist mystical palaces in the Liezi, were in fact locations where Buddha Kas'yapa preached the dharma (T 2122, p. 394, b20-22). In
abridged form, the latter pattern is repeated in Fozu tongjijuan 54. There we read merely "In
the time of King Mu, Manjusri and Maudgalyayana came from the West to [perform] magic on the king §3EB#3tW g (T 2035, p. 469, c29-p. 470, a2).
Interestingly, the Fozu tongji, in juan 34, has one section where both traditions regarding King Mu are brought together. In a passage designed as a collection of traditions on King Mu, both the tradition based on the Zhoushu yiji and the tradition re-interpreted from the
Liezi are rendered (T 2035, p. 327, al7-b2).
5. Erik Ziircher (1959: 273), presenting a full translation of this passage, names Falin's Poxie lun as the oldest
available source.
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Julch: Legends Surrounding King Mu of Zhou 627
As these references show, the legends of King Mu, in their re-interpreted versions, were
frequently quoted in Chinese Buddhist apologetic literature. So what is the purpose of these
references? In China, opponents of Buddhism frequently despised Buddhism as a foreign
religion that had come from the lands of the Barbarians and was not a part of Chinese cul
ture. To counteract these views, Buddhist apologias are eager to show Buddhist influence
in many aspects of Chinese antiquity, finally displaying Buddhism as an essential part of
the very roots of Chinese culture. With this intention, Buddhist apologias argue that the
reason for King Mu's travel to the West was the Buddha and not the Queen Mother, that
King Mu's guide on his heavenly journey was either the Buddha himself or Manjus'rl and
Maudgalyayana, but not some magician of Daoist lore. Legends surrounding King Mu are
one theme of many that are addressed to demonstrate the involvement of Buddhism in clas
sical Chinese antiquity.6 The case of King Mu is, however, of particular interest, since it
keeps re-appearing in different scriptures over and over again. It can therefore be seen as a
red thread running through much of Chinese Buddhist apologetic thought.
REFERENCES
Cahill, Suzanne. 1982. "The Image of the Goddess Hsi Wang Mu in Medieval Chinese Literature."
Ph.D. diss., Univ. of California, Berkeley. . 1993. Transcendence and Divine Passion: The Queen Mother of the West in Medieval
China. Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press.
Fang, Shiming iH. 2008. Guben zhushu jinian jizheng "fi"^fj" pf . Shanghai: Shanghai
Guji Chubanshe JhTft'fi'ff lBJK|±. Friihauf, Manfred W. 1998-99. Einige Uberlegungen zur Frage der Datierung und Authentizitat des Mu
tianzi zhuan. Oriens Extremus 41: 45-71.
. 1999. Die Konigliche Mutter des Western: Xiwangmu in alten Dokumenten Chinas.
Bochum: Projekt-Verlag.
Graham, A. C. 1960. The Book ofLieh-tzu. London: Murray. . 1961. The Date and Composition of Liehtzyy. Asia Major 8: 139-98.
Jiilch, Thomas. 2011. Die apologetischen Schriften des buddhistischen Tang-Mdnchs Falin. Munich:
Utz.
Keightley, David N. 1978. The Bamboo Annals and Shang-Chou Chronology. HJAS 38: 423-38.
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for the China Inland Mission, rev. American ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press.
Mathieu, Remi. 1978. Le Mu tianzi zhuan: Traduction annotee, etude critique. Paris: Institut des Hautes
Etudes Chinoises.
1993. Mu t'ien tzu chuan. In Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide, ed. Michael
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Porter, Deborah. 1993. The Literary Function of K'un-lun Mountain in the Mu T'ien-tzu Chuan. Early China 18: 73-106.
Shaughnessy, Edward L. 1986. On the Authenticity of the Bamboo Annals. HJAS 46: 149-80.
Yoshikawa, Tadao. 2008. Xiwang mu. In The Encyclopedia of Taoism, ed. Fabrizio Pregadio. Pp. 1119—
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6. For other examples see Jiilch 2011: 71ff.
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