This book illuminates various aspects of the spread of Buddhism from its Indian homeland to China and beyond during the first through tenth centuries. The coverage is amazingly broad, ranging from maritime aspects of the propagation of Buddhism to movements of peoples and ideas along the Central Asian desert Silk Roads, from "barbarian" dress to the Hellenistic roots of the astrolabe, and many other interesting topics besides. Scholarly disciplines and fields represented include history, history of art, religious studies, history of science, literature, economic history, astronomy, and...