Silk Road, Buddhism and Cultural Memory in East Asia
A Special Issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444) belonging to the section "Religions and Humanities/Philosophies".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 1610
Editors
Interests: history and philosophy of Chinese Buddhism
Interests: silk road cultural circulation; cultural memory in East Asia; Dunhuang manuscripts and textual culture; Buddhist transmission and localization
Interests: Chinese Buddhism; Chinese Buddhist canon; Buddhist text; Buddhist translation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The transmission of Buddhism along the Silk Road represents one of the most significant processes of cultural exchange in Eurasian history—rather than a simple diffusion of religious doctrine, this process involved complex interactions among languages, visual cultures, ritual systems, and literary traditions, contributing to the formation of enduring cultural memories across East Asia. From Gandhara and Kucha to Dunhuang, Chang’an, Nara, and Kyoto, Buddhist ideas and practices were continuously translated, adapted, and reinterpreted within diverse local contexts.
This Special Issue aims to explore the dynamic relationship between Silk Road Buddhism and cultural memory in East Asia, and seeks to examine how religious concepts, visual representations, and textual traditions were transmitted, localized, and embedded into regional knowledge systems and collective identities. The topic aligns closely with the the scope of Religions, particularly the journal’s focus on interdisciplinary approaches to religious traditions within historical, cultural, and philosophical frameworks.
We welcome original research articles and review papers that engage with, but are not limited to, the following themes:
- Buddhist transmission and localization along the Silk Road;
- Cultural memory and narrative formation in East Asia;
- Dunhuang manuscripts and textual cultures;
- Buddhist art, material culture, and sacred spaces;
- Translation, multilingualism, and knowledge circulation;
- Literary representations of the Silk Road and the “Western Regions”;
- Digital humanities approaches to Buddhist heritage;
- Museums, tourism, and contemporary reinterpretations of Silk Road Buddhism.
We hope that this Special Issue will stimulate new interdisciplinary research and contribute to a deeper understanding of how Buddhism functioned as a transregional cultural force shaping memory, identity, and knowledge systems in East Asia.
Dr. Jiade Shao
Dr. Dongbo Liu
Dr. Zhouyuan Li
Dr. Futong Zhang
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- silk road Buddhism
- cultural memory and memory studies
- transregional cultural circulation
- Buddhist culture in East Asia
- Dunhuang texts and literature of the Western regions
- Buddhist material culture and religious space
- Buddhist language and translation studies
- narrative and cultural representation
- digital humanities and cultural heritage
- folk belief and everyday practices
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