Frances Wood - From Buddhism to Nestorian Christianity

This lecture, "From Buddhism to Nestorian Christianity: The importance of the Silk Roads in the movement of ideas and religions across Central Asia" took place at the UBC Asian Auditorium on May 26, 2015. As the popular name suggests, the Silk Roads were seen as routes for the movement of commodities over thousands of year: as silk to Rome, jade and fine horses to China. But the movement of ideas and icons was also facilitated by these trade routes and evidence of the rich variety of religions seen on the Silk Road was provided by the great cache of manuscripts discovered in Dunhuang in 1900. Since the first removal of manuscripts to London by Aurel Stein in 1907, followed in the next year by the polymath Paul Pelliot, collecting for Parisian institutions, scholars have been astounded by the richness of this manuscript hoard. It reveals the significance of Buddhism in the daily life of Tang China but also shows the importance of religion to the Sogdian traders who dominated the northern Silk Road and underlines the cosmopolitan nature of Tang China. Presented by UBC Library and UBC Asian Studies in celebration of UBC’s Centenary Anniversary and as part of Asian Heritage Month.