Laozi Huahu Jing – The Laozi-to-Buddha Controversy 老子化胡经

Also known as Laozi Xisheng Huahu Jing (Scripture of Laozi's Ascension to the West to Transform the Barbarians). Compiled approximately at the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it is one of the popular versions of the Huahu Jing during the Tang and Song dynasties. It was not included in the Zhengtong Daozang (Orthodox Taoist Canon), the core collection of the Daozang (Taoist Canon). Five incomplete Dunhuang manuscripts of this text exist today. There are two manuscripts of Volume 1 (S1857, P2007), preserving 127 lines of the scripture. The first 20 lines consist of the Preface to the Laozi Huahu Jing attributed to "Emperor Ming of Wei", followed by more than a hundred lines of Exposition on the Laozi Xisheng Huahu Jing. It outlines the mythological tales of the Supreme Lord Lao transforming his dharmakāya in successive generations since the reign of King Tang of Yin, descending into the mortal world, propagating scriptures and imparting teachings in China and various countries in the Western Regions, and enlightening the masses, advocating the integration and convergence of Buddhism, Taoism and Manichaeism. Its narrative of the Supreme Lord Lao's eternal transformations echoes the Taiji philosophy of the interdependence of primal forces, which is a core concept in traditional Taoist thought.

Laozi Huahu Jing

There is one manuscript of Volume 2 (S6963), preserving 324 lines of the scripture. It lists the names of the "ninety-six heterodox sects" and the number of ghosts and gods under their command, with a verse for dispelling evil ghosts of heterodox sects attached at the end of the volume. There is one manuscript of Volume 8 Receiving the Dao (P3404), preserving 278 lines of the scripture, narrating the events of Laozi expounding doctrines and precepts in various countries of the Western Regions. There is one manuscript of Volume 10 Mystical Songs (P2004), preserving 242 lines of the scripture, compiling more than thirty poems related to Laozi's transformation to enlighten the barbarians.

The Huahu Jing is an important Taoist classic. As early as when Buddhism was first introduced to China in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was already a legend that Laozi traveled west to the barbarian lands and transformed into the Buddha. Wang Fu, a Taoist priest of the Western Jin Dynasty, forged the Huahu Jing to slander Buddhism. Since then, Buddhists and Taoists have engaged in long and fierce debates over the authenticity of the story of Laozi's transformation to enlighten the barbarians. From the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Tang and Song dynasties, Taoists created many classics propagating the story of Laozi's transformation to enlighten the barbarians, most of which were later incorporated into the supplementary series of the Daozang. It was not until the Zhiyuan reign period of the Yuan Dynasty (1264-1294) that Taoists lost the debate against Buddhist monks, and Emperor Shizu of Yuan issued an imperial edict to burn Taoist scriptures, leading to the complete loss of the Huahu Jing. The discovery of the incomplete Dunhuang manuscripts of the Huahu Jing has provided important materials for the study of the relationship between Buddhism and Taoism, sparking intense discussions among Chinese and foreign scholars in modern times. The most comprehensive studies on the Huahu Jing include Textual Research on the Theory of Laozi's Transformation to Enlighten the Barbarians by Wang Weicheng, and related works by Japanese scholars such as Takeuchi Yoshio, Yoshioka Yoshitoyo and Fukui Kōjun.