Search Results (9)

Miracle tales are almost the sole source for the investigation of the emergence and spread of the relic cult in the early phase of Chinese Buddhism. The earliest excavated relic casket dates back to 453 CE, over four centuries after Buddhism was introduced to China. Through a critical textual analysis of Ji Shenzhou Sanbao Gantonglu, it is evident that the initial form of relic veneration was based on miraculous responses. Legends about imperial relic worship before the 3rd century are all later fabrications. Two archeological finds—the alleged relic murals in a Han tomb at Horinger, Inner Mongolia, and the stūpa-shaped bronze vessel in Gongyi, Henan—are not directly related to relic veneration. Based on the available evidence, it is tentatively concluded that relic worship first emerged around the 3rd century in the vicinity of Luoyang, the capital of the Western Jin, and later spread to the south of the Yangtze River after the Yongjia chaos. The early worshippers included both monks and lay Buddhists, such as merchants and lower-ranking officials. Royal interest in relics did not arise until the 5th century. The rise of relic veneration in China occured two or three centuries later than that in Gandhāra, from which Chinese Buddhism was significantly influenced. Compared to the cult of images or scriptures, relic veneration also emerged relatively late in China. The reluctance to adopt relics as worship objects can be partly explained by (the mahāyāna) Buddhist doctrines and the Chinese cultural mentality. Full article

This paper examines how Daoxuan 道宣, the Tang Dynasty Buddhist historian and founder of the Nanshan Vinaya School, meticulously constructed the saintly image of Sengya 僧崖—a monk renowned for his auto-cremation—in his Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (Xu gaoseng zhuan 續高僧傳). Drawing on a range of sources—including the now-lost Biography of the Bodhisattva Sengya and regional texts such as the Collection of Miscellaneous Records from the Shu Region—Daoxuan reconfigured Sengya’s narrative, presenting his auto-cremation as a profound religious sacrifice emblematic of transformative spiritual commitment. The analysis explores how Daoxuan navigated the doctrinal tensions between this extreme practice and the Vinaya precept of non-killing by emphasizing the practitioner’s mental state over the physical act. In doing so, he reframed self-immolation not as an aberration but as a legitimate, even exalted, path to liberation. This reinterpretation is situated within the broader context of Chinese Buddhist thought—particularly the ideas of the indestructibility of the spirit and the cosmological framework of “Heaven–Man Correspondence”—highlighting the interplay between religious symbolism, doctrinal adaptation, and lived practice. Crucially, this paper treats Daoxuan’s narrative not merely as biography, but as hagiography—a literary mode in which historical memory and religious narrative are inextricably entwined. By examining the rhetorical and ideological dimensions of this genre, this study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how religious hagiography functioned as a tool for shaping sainthood, authorizing extreme religious practices, and negotiating the spiritual and social landscapes of medieval China. Full article

In this study, Cr coatings, CrN coatings, and CrN/Cr multi-layer coatings were deposited on the surface of Zr-4 alloy by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). We have investigated the effect of coating structure on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and high-temperature steam oxidation properties of coatings. The results show that the single-layer CrN coating has higher hardness but performs poorly in high-temperature steam oxidation compared to the Cr coating due to its greater brittleness, which makes it prone to cracking and spalling in high-temperature steam environments and provides a channel for Zr diffusion. In multi-layer coatings, however, they form a fine columnar crystal structure and a smoother surface, and the more layers there are, the better the mechanical properties and resistance to high-temperature steam oxidation of the coating. In a high-temperature steam environment, the CrN layer decomposes to form Cr₂N and N₂, and the N atoms diffuse inwards and react with Zr to form an α-Zr(N) layer, which restricts interdiffusion between Cr and Zr and blocks the diffusion of O into the substrate. Therefore, (CrN/Cr)_n coatings with a multi-layer structure have excellent high-temperature steam corrosion resistance. Full article

Network intrusion detection models are vital techniques for ensuring cybersecurity. However, existing models face several challenges, such as insufficient feature extraction capabilities, dataset imbalance, and suboptimal detection accuracy. In this paper, a new type of model (ResIncepNet-SA) based on InceptionNet, Resnet, and convolutional neural networks with a self-attention mechanism was proposed to detect network intrusions. The model used the PCA-ADASYN algorithm to compress network traffic features, extract high-correlation feature datasets, and oversample and balance the feature datasets to classify abnormal network traffic. The experimental results show that the accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score of the proposed ResIncepNet-SA model using the NSL-KDD dataset reach 0.99366, 0.99343, 0.99339, and 0.99338, respectively. This model enhances the accuracy of abnormal network traffic detection and outperforms existing models when applied to imbalanced datasets, offering a new solution for network traffic intrusion detection. Full article

Weituo 韦驮 is one of the most frequently represented protective deities in Chinese Buddhist temples. The statue of Weituo is enshrined virtually in every standard Buddhist temple in China today, and at a unique location—in the entrance hall for the four Heavenly Kings and facing inward. Why is the Weituo statue placed at this place and looking inward? The Chinese Weituo can be traced back to the Hindu god Skanda. However, his iconography and functions in China were completely reshaped by master Daoxuan’s 道宣 (596–667) account of this deity. Actually, Weituo is just one of the many Buddhist protective deities for general protection and prosperity. In China, as I demonstrate in this study, Weituo has been known as the most diligent Dharma-protector and is associated in particular with the saṅgha, as a patron guardian and inspector of monks and nuns. Thus, Weituo’s images are shrined in Buddhist temples. The locations of these images reflect the importance of Weituo and his special role in Chinese Buddhism. In the past, there have been a few studies, but they mainly focus on his origin. The functions of Weituo and the worship of Weituo in the Chinese saṅgha have not been well examined. Going beyond his identities, iconography, and style, this study aims to contextualize Weituo images in temple space and religious practice. Full article

Multi-element alloys (e.g., non-equiatomic FeMnCoCr alloys) have attracted extensive attention from researchers due to the breaking of the strengthen-ductility tradeoff relationship. Plenty of work has been conducted to investigate the ingredient-dependent deformation mechanism in these alloys in experiments. However, the atomic simulations on such parameter-related mechanisms are greatly limited with the lack of the related interatomic potentials. In this work, two interatomic potentials are developed within the embedded atom method (EAM) framework for Fe_80−xMn_xCo₁₀Cr₁₀ high-entropy alloys. The tunability of the cohesive energy-related martensitic transformation (MT) mechanism was comprehensively investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) through a series of unilateral crack configurations with different twin boundary spacings (TBs). It is noted that the main deformation mechanism around the crack tip is transformed from a martensitic transformation to dislocation activities (dislocation or twin) with the variation of different cohesive energies between face-centered cubic (fcc) and hexagonal close-packed (hcp) phases. Additionally, the introduction of twin boundaries significantly enhances the strength and toughness of the alloys. The newly developed interatomic potentials are expected to provide theoretical support for the related simulations, focusing the martensitic transformation mechanism on high-entropy alloys. Full article

Universal circuit breakers are crucial devices in power systems, and the accuracy of their fault diagnosis is vital. However, existing diagnostic models suffer from low feature extraction rates and low diagnostic accuracy. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for fault diagnosis of universal circuit breakers based on analyzing vibration signals generated during the closing operation. Firstly, the vibration signal was decomposed into multiple modal components using Variable Mode Decomposition (VMD), and the modal components were subjected to time and frequency domain feature extraction. Then, the extracted features were fused and normalized to construct a training dataset for the proposed model. We propose a Deep Belief Network (DBN) diagnostic model based on the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), where the WOA is employed to optimize the hyperparameters of the DBN. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed VMD and WOA-DBN model achieved an average accuracy of 96.63%. This method enhanced the accuracy of feature extraction from vibration signals and outperformed traditional diagnostic models when using a single vibration signal for fault diagnosis of universal circuit breakers. It provides a novel solution for early fault diagnosis of universal circuit breakers. Full article

Miracle tales are didactic stories related to Buddhist figures, objects, and places that describe supernormal occurrences brought about by acts of great piety and fervent devotion. They present the audience with concrete examples of the workings of karma, while simultaneously setting verifiable historical precedents in a bid to prove the religious efficacy of Buddhism in China. These were also historiographical works, providing a wealth of detail regarding not only religious life and belief in China, but also local lore, politics, architectural trends, and much more. This paper will focus on a text called the Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu 集神州三寶感通錄 (T2106), a collection of miracle tales compiled by the seventh-century scholar-monk, Daoxuan 道宣 (596–667 CE). This text is a collection of narratives drawn from literary and epigraphy sources, as well as orally transmitted stories. As a Buddhist figurehead and as the author of many seminal historiographical works, Daoxuan played a central role in the overall localization of this tradition in China. Bearing this in mind, this paper seeks to interpret the “collective images” presented in Daoxuan’s collection of miracle tales, those representations of the miraculous and the supernormal. Full article

Buddhist texts generally prohibit the killing or harming of any sentient being. However, while such a ban may seem straightforward, it becomes much more complex when annoying or dangerous animals are involved. This paper focuses on one such animal—the rat. These rodents feature prominently in monastics’ daily lives, so it should come as no surprise that both Indian and Chinese Buddhist masters pay attention to them. In the first part of the paper, we investigate the problems that rats can cause, how monastics deal with them, and what the authors-compilers of Buddhist vinaya (disciplinary) texts have to say about them. In the second part, we focus on how Daoxuan 道宣 (596–667)—one of the most prominent vinaya masters of the early Tang Dynasty—interprets the vinaya guidelines and their implementation in Chinese monasteries. As we will see, he raises a number of potential issues with regard to strict adherence to the Buddhist principles of no killing and no harming, and so reveals some of the problematic realities that he felt monastics faced in seventh century China. Full article