[
    {
        "id": 205133,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1966",
        "page_number": 89,
        "title": "RAS-1966",
        "content_text": "84\n\nHOLMES WELCH\n\nTT\n\nalso Mahayanists, to have a close relationship. The same did not apply to the Theravadins of Southeast Asia of Burma, Ceylon, Thailand, and Indo-China. Not only did they have a different kind of Buddhism (which many of them regarded as \"pure\" in contrast to the \"corrupt\" Mahayana), but there was a much greater language barrier than between China and Japan, which both used the same ideograms. Until Dharmapala's abortive visit to Shanghai in 1893, there had been virtually no contact between Chinese and Theravada Buddhists for many hundreds of years.\n\nIt was therefore a significant event when in 1930 Huang Mao-lin (Wong Mou-lam) was sent to Ceylon by the Pure Karma Association in Shanghai. His mission was to study Theravada and explain Mahayana or, as we might say today, to start a dialogue. In 1934 the Ceylonese bhikkhus Soma and Kheminda returned his visit. Unfortunately when they reached Shanghai they found no facilities for study and went on to Japan. Nonetheless, during their brief stay they spoke on the Buddhist radio station, XMHB, and met many Chinese devotees. They were followed the next year by Narada, another bhikkhu from the same temple (that is, the Vajirarama in Colombo). Narada visited Shanghai, Hangchow, Soochow, Hankow, and had a meeting with T'ai-hsü. In 1946 Soma and Kheminda again went to China, this time accompanied by Pannasiha, to start a Pali college in Sian at T'ai-hsü's invitation. When they arrived they found that the civil war had broken out in Shensi and that Sian was inaccessible. After spending three months in Shanghai they returned to Ceylon.\n\nWhereas Asian Buddhist visitors to China came mostly from Ceylon, Chinese Buddhists went not only to Ceylon, but to Thailand, Burma, India, and Indo-China. Usually they went as pilgrims or for re-ordination or to minister to the overseas Chinese, but sometimes their purpose was to study the Pali language and Theravada doctrine. This did not always work out too well.\n\nIn December 1935 four Chinese monks left for such study in Thailand, where they were welcomed by the Supreme Patriarch and lodged in a royal temple.33 Shortly thereafter five other monks were sent to Ceylon, where they received a Theravada",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214256,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1998",
        "page_number": 114,
        "title": "RAS-1998",
        "content_text": "77\n\ning stick of incense before each with a perfunctory bow, the Four are looked upon as mere soldier guardians with a fifth, Wei T'o [see 21 above], their commander.\n\nThe group of Four are the product of the Mahayana school of Buddhism with additions from the Tantric school. Their original Buddhist title in Sanskrit is usually Dvarapala, though others claim that they are the Chin-kang Shou, derived from the Sanskrit \"Vajrapani', the Thunderbolt Bearer, the Great Protector.\n\nThey are responsible for the security of temples, protecting them from demonic attack and also preventing evil spirits from sneaking in. In Taoist temples, where they have different individual identities, they normally stand in the side wings of the main hall, such as in the Jade Emperor Hall at the Monastery of Ten Thousand Buddhas at Shatin in the New Territories of Hong Kong.\n\nThose in Buddhist temples are the Diamond Kings whilst those in Taoist and folk religion temples are Celestial Kings [T'ien-wang]. They are easily recognisable by their stature, location and by the collocation with the others in the group; also, because each usually holds a unique identifying symbolic object, a furled umbrella or a rodent, etc. They stand with defiant stares and have faces in colours identifying the direction for which they are responsible. The Buddhist Four guardians all wear the bodhisattva's five-leaf crowns with minute Buddhas inscribed on the central leaf, and flying scarves forming a nimbus behind and above their heads and shoulders. Many have demons, thieves, liars and adulterers underfoot. The Taoist Four, who also have demons underfoot, generally wear military helmets.\n\nA manifestation of Vaisravana, the protector of the North and one of the Four Chin-kang, appeared during his journey to aid Hsuan Tsang, the Buddhist monk who trekked from China to India and back to obtain Buddhist scriptures. For this reason Vaisravana was later revered by devotees, alone and in his own right, and over the years became associated with General Li Ching.\n\nAll four of the Mo-li brothers, the Taoist identities of the Four Temple Guardian Generals, are included and represented in the sets of",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794",
        "rank": 0
    }
]