魏晋南北朝释家异域志之风土人情书写

The Writing of Local Customs and Practices of the Buddhist’s Exotica Geographical Records in the Wei,Jin,Southern and Northern Dynasties

魏晋南北朝时期,随着佛教徒西行求法大潮的涌起,释家异域志蔚然滋多。这些异域志以纪实为主,主要记录高僧乘危履险、西行求法的种种经历,亦不乏对异域奇闻异物、风土人情的生动描写。既有对域外自然险境的如实记录,又有对异域奇特事物的传神摹写,还涉及不同国家不同的土风民俗,包括居住环境、饮食习惯、衣着打扮、交通状况、丧葬习俗等,具有重要的文学、史学、文献学、人类学、民俗学等价值,值得我们给予更多关注。

In the period of Wei,Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties,with the rising tide of Buddhists going west to seek Dharma,there were a lot of Buddhist’s exotica Geographical Records.They mainly recorded the experiences of the eminent monks who travelled in danger and sought for dharma in the West.There are also vivid descriptions of exotic objects,local conditions and customs.There are not only true records of the natural dangers,but also vivid descriptions of strange foreign objects outside the country.Different local customs and customs in different countries,including living environment,eating habits,dress,traffic conditions,funeral customs,etc.could also be found in these records.It is of great value in literature,history,philology,anthropology and folklore,and deserves our more attention.