After imperial structure was restored, the Chinese began to disapprove of Buddhism (docs 4, 6). Chinese government authorities increasingly saw Buddhism as a threat to their political power and moved to discredit it. Imperial Tang advisor Han Yu saw Buddhism as evil, anti-Confucian, and illegal (doc 4). Han Yu’s position and livelihood greatly depends on Confucianism remaining dominant, especially due to the civil service system, which provided him with his government job. Due to this, he is not a very reliable source on how the average citizen and even the Chinese emperor felt about Confucianism remaining dominate (doc 4, POV).
DBQ Different people in China had different views on the spread of Buddhism. Buddhism was a religion, created in India (6th century B.C.E) and spread to China (1st Century). After Buddhism, China started to experience political problems. Many people believed this was caused by Buddhism. Some people sided with the belief and praised Buddha saying he has much to offer, while others repelled it for the effect of the ideas on China.
Before Buddhism’s rise to popularity, Han China focused on distinctive practices, such as the Confucian way. This raises the question, how did Buddhism affect the role of women in China after the popularity of the Confucian practices in the Han Dynasty? Ban Zhao’s Lessons for a Woman explain how based on the Confucian doctrines, a woman’s fundamental duty was to serve others by putting others before herself, and this is observed even from their birth, all the way to their duties as a wife. In contrast, Buddhism, would change women’s role positively because they were regarded as equals to men, and they had agency, as illustrated in the Buddhist Doctrines and Practices by Wei Shou et al. However, some scholars may argue that Buddhism did not
Han Yu cited Confucius in his rage to ridicule Buddhism as “a cult of barbarian peoples” (Doc #4). Han Yu’s position in the imperial court certainly suggests his ideas were an official state standard, though one would need additional evidence from Han Yu’s emperor’s response to Han Yu’s plea in order to know how much influence actually Han Yu held over official policy. Emperor Wu also called for Buddhism’s “eradication,” as the cause for “poisoning customs.” As Emperor, it is likely that Wu’s Edict carried a lot of weight, but it is also possible Wu was jealous of Buddhist monasteries “outshining [his own] imperial palace” than by true concern for his subjects’ welfare.
but it had a minimal impact on China. Ancestor worship, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism were still the main Chinese religions. Even with a strong European presence in China, imperial government regulation, Confucian bureaucracy, dynastic patterns, and culture identity remained unchanged. The Chinese continued to follow their traditions despite Western Europeans best efforts to change
Although many people accepted Buddhism, others scrutinized Buddhism which ultimately led to a division throughout China. Buddhism under the Sui Dynasty had lots of imperial support. Under the Sui emperors, Buddhism also became more integrated into Chinese culture and society however Confucian scholars and officials criticized Buddhism for being a foreign religion not derived from the Chinese. After the fall of the Sui, The Tang Dynasty was a period of significant growth and development for Buddhism in China although there remained controversies surrounding the religion. One of the main
Ultimately, the response to the spread of Buddhism in China was mainly positive acceptance, but at certain times, negative. As Documents 1 and 2 discuss, one response to the spread of Buddhism was large acceptance. Document 1 explains ‘The Four Noble Truths’ and their significance to the Buddhist way. The main idea is that through ‘The Four Noble Truths’ one can put a stop to their suffering.
Although Buddhism originated in the sixth century B.C.E, it quickly spread to China by the first century C.E. Buddhism was both accepted and adopted by many, but also opposed by just as many at the same time. Still some Chinese citizens chose to neither fully adopt or fully oppose the religion, but rather incorporated unique Chinese traditions into Buddhism and also created new traditions from it. Buddhism’s spread in China was met with many different responses. However, the mix of responses could be due to the fact that Buddhism’s arrival fell in the middle of a period of instability for China. Documents 2 and 3 are both in favor of Buddhism.
In document #6, Tang Emperor Wu (845 A.D) expresses his dislike for Buddhist saying “ We have heard the Buddha was never spoken of before the Han Dynasty; from then on the religion of idols gradually came to prominence.” (Doc 6, Wu) The purpose of his writings was to expose Buddhism's faults, and the belief of China being better before the Han dynasty fell and Buddhism took shape. Traditionalist, who read pieces such as the 819 Confucian scholar Han Yu would agree that Buddhism ruined China’s sophisticated ways. Being an official of the Tang imperial court, Han Yu was very influential. “ The Buddha’s sayings contain nothing about our ancient kings and the Buddha’s manner of dress did not conform to our laws” (Doc 4, Yu)
Confucianism had a vital role in how the Han was able to maintain political authority for four centuries. Although the early Han rulers adopted from the Qin the harsh enforcement of law and consequences, the reign of the Han Dynasty was moral and practical. Lu Jia wrote about how the Qin failed to rule humanely placing fear of the law in those under rule. Lu Jia compared the Han to the Qin writing, “One who is rich in virtue has far-flung influence; one who is ample in brute strength may be merely overbearing,” and in the Xinyu he blames the absence of disorder on human and righteous rule. The people of China grew weary of tyranny and rebellion struck the region resulting in the Shi Huangdi dying with China in a period of warring states and his successors giving in to Han rule.
The influence of Buddhism in China arose religious conflicts. One big similarity is the attack of outside invasions. Nomads lead several attacks on Rome and China. These attacks called for big armies, armies that the neither of them had. Therefore, the nomads overtook China and
Confucian beliefs within the Han dynasty shaped a government of benevolence that believed social relations and education were necessary for function, while Legalist principles of the Qin dynasty influenced governmental hierarchy and the discouragement of education. In the Han dynasty, Confucianism stressed the idea of Filial Piety which was the recognition of reverence for the source of life. Filial Piety was put in place to enable both parent and child to flourish through their cooperation of one another. Confucians were fond of applying the family metaphor to the community so when families were thriving, communities were considered thriving as well. Politics within the Han dynasty adopted this technique and soon believed that rulers should set example through moral leadership and exemplary teaching based on the way families operated.
It’s a little bit difficult to understand the cultural and political influences each of these men had on early Chinese government and society. From my understanding and what I’ve gathered from the reading. The main focus and point the Mencius is trying to make are this; In our human nature, we are naturally innocent and good. We are born good and we know what is right and what is wrong.
From the collapse of Han Dynasty in 220 CE to the Tang Dynasty in 907 CE the spread of Buddhism had varying positive and negative responses. From positive responses like economic and political sponsoring from rulers during different periods to negative responses as social dislike and disregard as Buddhism was considered to go against Confucianism ideals and believes and screw with proper Chinese society. Buddhism first entered China during the Han dynasty, before this Buddhism had not spread far from its country of origin India and was unknown to Chinese this can be seen when Emperor Wu himself says We have Heard the Buddha was never spoken of before the Han dynasty; from then on the religions of idols gradually came to prominence.(Doc 7)
Moreover, Nomadic rulers who governed much of northern China, found Buddhism useful in part because it was foreign. During the Tang dynasties (618-907 C.E), Buddhism have shaped China by bringing wealth and great achievements. Such being largely exempt from taxation and owning large estates that ran businesses such as water mills, pawn shops, oil presses; collected gems, gold and lavish works of art. However, Buddhism during the Tang dynasty have never achieved the independence from state authorities that the Christian Church acquired in Europe. Buddhism did not only shaped China to a better place, it also brought crisis to China.
Religions of the Han and Yuan Dynasties The Religion of the Han and Yuan Dynasties were Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. The religions of these dynasties affected the government and society greatly. During the Han Dynasty the major religion was Confucianism. Buddhism and Daoism were the main religions in the Yuan Dynasty. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism all affected the Chinese government.