The Spread Of Buddhism In Tang China

(4, 6, 7) Particularly during its largest period of influence (The Era of Division), they largely welcomed Buddhism, as it offered a type of refuge from the turmoil and war of that time period (ADD EV). Buddhism was very flexible, and as Zong Mi pointed out, was fairly flexible to the needs of the individual worshipper (Document 6). It disregarded previous social structures, and accepted people regardless of social status or education, as displayed in the records of Buddhist teachings transcribed by disciples (Document 4). Though, documents such as this one aren’t fully credible, as the events written about are transcribed by loyal, and heavily biased, disciples (SOURCE). But, around the 840s, the government’s view on Buddhism began to shift. Many confucian administrators claimed that the lack of taxes on the religion caused an economic deficit, feeding state fears and leading to restrictions, and later the open persecution of the religion by Emperor Wuzong (Doc 7). Monasteries either heavily taxed or destroyed, monks/nuns were forced to renounce their religion, and previously Buddhist lands were parceled out to landlords. (ADD EV). So despite the inclusiveness and flexibility of the religion with peasants, the ultimate persecution of worshippers affected buddhist members of the Chinese peasant class

China is a very influential world power and has been for many years. The Classical and Post-Classical years in China were a time of achievement and advancement, especially in the religious movement. Post-Classical and Classical China were very important historical periods, and their religions, and the effect of them on the world around them highlighted that importance.

Confucian scholars and the emperor attacked Buddhism as an outlandish, barbaric belief. “The Memorial of Buddhism” written by Han Yu, a Confucian scholar, opposes Buddhism when the emperor decides to bring “the finger bone of Buddha” into the Chinese palace. He shows the unjust actions of the emperor by referring back to Confucian teachings such as keeping “[ghosts and spirits] at a distance”. The scholar also describes how Buddhism is barbaric because it does not conform to any Chinese laws or Confucian teachings (Doc. 4). As a Confucian scholar, he favored the relationship between “sovereign and subject” and traditional dress. He did not want

Around 845 CE, Tang Emperor Wu states that the spread of the religion wore “out people’s strength” and “pilfers their wealth” (Document 6). The stealing of their wealth is an act of opposing the public policygoing against the rules that were made by the government, while the wearing out strength represented his impression of Buddhism. Emperor Wu did not approve Buddhism because he believed that the religion was corrupting his citizens since they were abandoning the those above them. As a result, he stated that the “evil” should be eradicated (Document 6). In 819 CE, Han Yun, a Confucian scholar at the Tang imperial court, called Buddhism a “cult of barbarian peoples.” He goes on to address that considering how Buddhism “did not exist in [China] in ancient times,” their clothes were different and their lives were lived out differently (Document 4). In his view as a governmental official, Han Yun felt that Buddhism had become such an integral part of their lives that they were tearing apart the foundation of their

Empress Wu, the only female to ever rule China, was a devout Daoist. Also, as the Tang Empire expanded eastward, contact with India increased and Buddhist influence reached its height. Many people traveled to India. Monks like Xuanzang went to India, brought back many sutras, literary compositions based on the teachings of Buddha, and translated them into Chinese. Seeing the rise of Daoism and Buddhism and the fading of Confucianism, Tang scholars set out to defend Confucianism. Han Yu, an essayist, vehemently argued against Buddhism and asked the Chinese to go back to their roots by studying and interpreting the Confucian Classics. His main argument against Buddhism was that the foreign religion preached equality among all and didn’t place proper importance between the five relationships (ruler vs. the ruled, father vs. son, husband vs. wife, older brother vs. younger brother, and older friend vs. younger friend) necessary for social tranquility. He urged that this was destroying social order. Nonetheless Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism all coexisted as the "three teachings" under the Tang.

Buddhism was seen as practiced by the “barbarians” (document 4). Han Yu ridicules Buddhism by emphasizing that Confucianism is the truth while Buddhism contains only lies.. It is not surprising that Han Yu is opposed to Buddhism because of his position in the Imperial court. He was of a higher class and many people in the higher class tended to reject Buddhism, partly because of the religion’s teaching of equality. He could greatly influence the Emperor; however, many peasants may have disagreed because of their differences of class. Furthermore, in document 6, Wu, the Tang Emperor, denounces Buddhism by blaming it for social injustices such as people leaving their religion, “injuring humankind” and destroying the law. It is expected that the emperor of the Tang dynasty would give such an edict because many of Buddhism’s teachings such as the equality of classes and genders go against a great deal of what the empire is built on. The Tang dynasty also had a great deal of inner conflict when it came to accepting or rejecting Buddhism. This edict was given in 854 CE after the imperial structure of the government was

It is prevalent that the spread of Buddhism collectively affected the government in 300-900 CE (Doc’s 1,7). Many people working in the government were impacted by Buddhism’s arrival in China such as emperors, aristocrats, and other higher ranking scholars (Doc’s 1, 7). Another way Buddhism was affecting government was Buddhism was skewing the reasoning and view of economy as shown according to Emperor Wu, Buddhism harmed the government by convincing them to give up farming, resulting in reducing tax revenue as an effect of the spread of Buddhism (Doc 7). Because the author is an emperor then they would write the the information to influence people not to be Buddhist which would lead them to state why being a Buddhist is not good and over exaggerate the other information about Buddhism; this helps support the claim that the spread of Buddhism definitely influenced the working of the government. Additionally the most popular religion of China at the time would almost always find

There were some in the civilization that did not support, nor reject Buddhism but simply tolerated it. In document 3, the anonymous Chinese scholar answer questions about Buddhism that you can assume were frequently asked questions in China during the time period. He defends Buddhism to an extent, yet does not support it. He believes that neither Confucianism nor Buddhism has all the answers. Document 5 tries to make amends with all three religions saying they are the same at the basis. He is attempting to create a compromise so that all three religions can live in peace in China. Zong Mi seems very unbiased at first, however he is a Buddhist scholar so he might be trying to defend Buddhism by saying all these religions do the same things in different ways so just let everyone do their own thing. An additional document to help more effectively analyze the responses to the spread of

resulted from the fall of the Han Empire in 220 C.E. gave Buddhism its foothold in Chinese

It is believed that Buddhism spread to China through the Silk Road. When the Silk Road opened in the 2nd century BC, missionaries and pilgrims spread Buddhism to China. Chang Ch’ien was recorded to first bring Buddhism to China when he heard about India and Buddhist beliefs on his way back to China. In about the 1st century BC, a Buddhist community is said to have been living in China. But the most well-known story of the spreading of Buddhism is when Han emperor, Mingdi, had a dream about Buddha in 68 CE and sent Cai Yin, his official to learn more about it. Meanwhile, Mingdi learned from his ministers that he had seen Buddha, “the God of the West” in his dream. After 3 years Cai Yin came back to china with Buddhist teachings and

Although Buddhism began in India, it gradually transferred to China in the 200's. There, it was met by mixed reviews in all classes. Some dynasties preferred its philosophy and promise of afterlife to the rigid Confucian ideals that were previously imposed although the Chinese turned to Buddhism for it promises of eternal enlightenment during times of hardship and invasion, the period that followed led to many attempts to reconcile the religion with the traditional Confucianism, increasing many views that Buddhism was a barbaric foreign invasion.

According to Han Yu, the Buddha was a barbarian and the things he said were not inclusive of Confucian philosophies and beliefs (Doc 4). It is evident that Han Yu responded negatively to Buddhism as he viewed the Buddha as a barbarian and highly discredited the religion. Han Yu continued by stating that a relic bone of the Buddha admitted into the palace was foul and unlucky. He ended by referring to Buddhism as an evil and wanted to eradicate it as soon as possible (Doc 4). An extreme hatred and pessimistic response is seen as Han Yu continuously downgrades the Buddha and wanted to entirely eliminate Buddhism from the country for future generations. This hatred most likely came from the fact that Han Yu was a biased Confucian leader during 819 C.E., which was during the Tang Dynasty when imperial authority already returned. According to Tang Emperor Wu, Buddhism was like a vine poisoning the entire country of China (Doc 6). First of all, an opposing view can be seen as Emperor Wu called Buddhism a “poison.” Tang Emperor Wu continues by stating that Buddhism caused the people to leave their duties and responsibilities behind, affecting the people of China. Monks and nuns were also living off of the people. He also commented that Buddhism should be eradicated as it was an evil (Doc 6). This further emphasizes the negative reaction that the Emperor had towards Buddhism as he believed it ruined the wellbeing of the people who left their jobs of being farmers and tending to silkworms. Emperor Wu did rule during the Tang Dynasty, which was when Confucian exams were brought back and Confucianism was implemented once again into China, hence why he was completely in opposition to Buddhism. In addition, it was uncertain to whether people were actually being negatively affected by those who may have

The interdependency between Wu and Buddhism blooms as early as her overtaking of the imperial rule of China. As resourceful and violent as Wu is in securing her title, demonstrated by the empress’s exploitation of the “secret police force to monitor dissident factions,” she is also cunning in gathering support from the ordinary masses, such as the Buddhists and their followers (Bentley 290). She “generously patronize[s] Buddhists, who return the favor by composing

Buddhism for centuries, has long been influencing the population all over the world, specifically in China . Buddhism first came to China as a result of merchant traders from India. From there it spread within the merchant community. It mainly expanded because it gave people a sense of hope and faith with the chaos they were experiencing from the collapse of the Han Dynasty. It also spread because it covered what Confucianism lacked; a more spiritual and emotional approach that appealed to many people of different classes. It is because of this that Buddhism spread and was able to influence and greatly affect China during the period of 300-900 CE. Buddhism influenced philosophy and moral teachings, kept the Chinese society peaceful and orderly, as well as affecting the overall economy. Buddhism had strong religious teachings that appealed to the lower class with the idea of afterlife and nirvana as well as an emphasis on following your own path that transformed Chinese beliefs causing a large portion of the population to convert (doc’s 1,4). Buddhism kept the Chinese society orderly by reminding all of Buddha’s life and teachings with statues and the influence it had on monks to spread charity and missionary work (doc’s 2,3,6). Buddhism also had an effect on the economy of China. As it spread from other regions, it caused more farmers and silk producers to convert and spread the religion as monks and nuns. (doc 7,5).

The emperor Taizong gave money to monasteries, sent for more Buddhist books, and created art and statues honoring the Buddhist religion. The empress Wu compose the ultimate dedication to the new faith. She not only created more Buddhist artifacts, but she gave monk more political and social power and requested different scholars to come and teach more of this religion. Wu also injected a law which made Buddhism supersede any other beliefs. So based on the information presented in this paragraph, you can clearly see the political influence on Buddhism and China. Now let’s go over some social effects that helped with the continuous spread of Buddhism through China and central Asia.