Following the fall of the Han dynasty came the decline of practicers of the Confucian philosophy because of the downfall of the elite class and a centralized government. Buddhism, a religion with it’s roots from north India, has found its presence in China during the time when trade, along the silk roads, was crucial in all parts of Eurasia. Although the spread of Buddhism in China was greeted with devotion from new converts who supported the religion by spreading it and combining their cultures with the religion, it also was rejected by the ruling elite who opposed the spread of the religion that impacted China for the next following centuries. A response towards the spread of Buddhism in China was the increase in motivation to spread it. …show more content…
For example, in a picture labeled “Sakyamuni (Buddha) Cutting His Hair” created during the Tang dynasty depicted a man in Chinese clothing with Chinese people around him in an environment full of mountains and trees that is usually favored by Chinese artists (Doc 3). The man represents Buddha if Buddha was a Chinese person, when he is actually an Indian prince who is named Siddhartha Gautama. The purpose of this painting was to show how Chinese artists blended Chinese culture with Buddhism in paintings to show how Buddha would be like if Buddha was a Chinese person. Another example is the Leshan Giant Buddha statue which is a statue that is 233 feet tall which is built during the Tang dynasty (Doc.4). Surrounding the statue of Buddha was statues of Chinese generals that were to “protect” the statue. Because the Chinese during the Tang dynasty liked to create statues, they created a statue of Buddha, which represents the blend of cultures with the religion because of the Chinese’s devotion to the religion. Zong Mi, a leading Buddhist scholar, described that “Confucius, Laozi and the Buddha were perfect sages.” and states that their teachings were similar and that “...they must be observed with respect.” (Doc 6). Confucianism, founded by Confucius, and Daoism (Taoism) founded by Laozi are philosophies that were all founded in China and was very popular to Chinese people. With the spread of Buddhism in China, Zong Mi wanted to compare the three philosophies together to where they blend with one another, so that Buddhism would be a religion that can be accepted into the Chinese
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Show MoreDBQ 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.
In Doc. 4, Han Yu, a Confucian scholar, discussed the idea of having a procession into the palace in which the finger bone of Buddha, retrieved from India, was to be displayed to the people. He saw this as ludicrous and disgusting, recalling that The Buddha was foreign, did not mention Chinese thinkers or kings and did not honor the central Confucian concept of the hierarchy and the family. Han Yu believed that, if The Buddha were alive, he would be sent away and unable to “delude”, or trick and deceive, the Chinese people. This account is hateful, calling Buddhism an “evil”. This shows that some scholars felt threatened by the foreign ideas flowing from India and believed that Buddhism was in no way beneficial to China.
In the 1st Century Buddhism spread throughout China. Some members of Chinese society promoted the spread of Buddhism believing it was beneficial and could aid in achieving enlightenment. However, there was still some of Chinese society opposed to Buddhist belief system, stating it was ‘Barbaric’ and detrimental. Other citizens took a neutral view, believing Buddhism can co-exist with other belief systems. Some members of Chinese society promoted the spread of Buddhism believing it was beneficial and could aid in achieving enlightenment.
Buddhism influenced the people, majority of them changing their lifestyles of the monks. Although most of the people converted to Buddhism, some resented it. China had gone through a tough struggle in both politics and the people. In Document 6 an emperor talks about how Buddhism is posing the people of China by making them forsake their lords and steal their wealth. The emperor goes farther by saying how monks rob people from food and clothes by not working.
During this time, China’s elites were becoming more and more interested in religions of all kinds which set an open path for Buddhism to impact Chinese Society the way it
Buddhism is a religion founded in the 5th century, by Buddha the person who then helped spread it into places like India and much of China and continuing to spread into some parts of Asia. The vast amount of trading routes such as the silk road in Asia helped Buddha and his views spread. This new religion clashed with other great religions such as Christianity causing some’s responses to Buddhism to be alarming. However, these were only a small amount of responses, the greater response to Buddhism in China was very positive with many supporting the idea that Buddha brought which was peace and enlighten.
Since two-hundred and twenty C.E Buddhism has spread through China tremendously. Although the spread was great, people interpreted Buddhism a different way. Generally poor people would agree with Buddhism due to being able to relate with everything Buddhism was presenting, due to Buddhism not being about wealth. While poor people could relate, wealthy people could not due to the wealth and extravagant lifestyle. As the struggles of lower-class people decreased, the amount of people following Buddhism decreased.
Some reactions were positive while others were negative. When Buddhism was first on the uprise in China, Confucian scholars quickly rejected because they saw Buddhism as being detrimental to the Chinese society since they saw some Buddhist practices as being evil and contravenes some of their Confucian principles as seen in Han Yu's ‘Memorial on Buddhism" (Doc 4). The Confucian Scholars saw Buddha as being "a being a man of the barbarians [basically a barbarian] who did not speak Chinese and who wore clothes of a different fashion". Also, with the Confucian Scholar's perception of Buddhism, they believed that some of the Buddhist practices like the mutilation of flesh being offered to the Buddha must not be allowed to stand. Confucian scholars also didn't appreciate how Buddhist teachings didn't mention anything about China's ancient kings and they also don't like the Buddha's way of dressing since it was against China's laws.
The spread of Buddhism changed the practices of many lives. Buddhism continues to be prevalent in China today. There was a shift but not in ways that were undoubtedly significant. Although significant for those who converted along with the aspects of Buddhism that became incorporated into Chinese culture, it was not as significant as the conversion the Natives of the Americas experienced, “They neither carry nor know anything of arms, for I showed them swords, and they took them by the blade and cut themselves through ignorance... They should be good servants and intelligent, for I observed that they quickly took in what was said to them, and I believe that they would easily be made Christians, as it appeared to me that they had no religion, our Lord being pleased, will take hence, at the time of my
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)
Chapter One: Monasteries and Monarchs The Role of Buddhism in Fostering Diplomacy Through the travels of Xuanzang, an interesting side of Buddhism and religion in general was shown by how the different people we met treated him, and how the countries in his story acted. Many of their actions were because they either were Buddhist or supported Buddhist monks in some way. From the beginning, we can see how the religion of Xuanzang and his brothers affected their actions and lives. In the very first paragraph of the chapter, the scene is set with imagery of war torn China and how it directly contradicts the beliefs of Xuanzang and that China is no place for peaceful Buddhist monks (1).
First, Buddhism destroyed the Five Confucian Relationships which had helped maintain political, economic and social order in China. Additionally, many people in the Chinese community did not feel a connection with the Buddha, originated from India due to the difference in cultural backgrounds which represented their identity. Finally, the relationship of Confucius and Heaven was tarnished by Buddha; Confucius was the only one who knew how to lead his community in the most beneficial way because he had the ability of connecting with them through their culture. In 845, Tang Emperor Wu, declared Buddhism as harmful and destructive by changing Chinese beliefs and values which represented their culture and the governing structure which had led China to be one of the leading, powerful empires (Doc 7.) Tang Emperor Wu, the ruler of the most influential empire, is calling for Confucius followers to strengthen their devotion to their values and beliefs linking Confucianism with their identity; Chinese culture.
During the reign of Emperor Saga, Chinese poetry was tremendously popular in Japanese society. In addition to Chinese poetry, Chinese fashion, books, and works of art, many of them introduced by the scholar Kukai, became prevalent in high Japanese society. Indeed, “Kukai…returned not only with many books and works of art, but also with knowledge of the latest Chinese fashions” (Varley 56). Furthermore, many Buddhist monks brought Chinese works of art to Japan for use in rituals, and these works of art highly influenced the painting styles of Japanese artists. Eventually, Japan had created their own fine arts culture that was an altered form of the Chinese arts.
In China, Christian missionaries downplayed their mission to convert and were at pains to be respectful of Chinese culture, pointing out parallels between Confucianism and Christianity rather than portraying Christianity as something new and foreign. • Chinese conversions occurred primarily among those elite scholars who were interested in Western science and who were attracted by the personal lives of the missionaries and by the moral certainty that Christianity offered. While their primary goal was elite conversions, missionaries also attracted a small following among members of the general population who were attracted by tales of miracles attributed to the Christian God. However, there was only limited acceptance of Christianity in China
Expansion and Integration • Classical Civilizations adjusting to expansion. • Confucius, Buddha, and Socrates all between 550 and 400 BCE. • Felt the need to articulate central values and ethics. • China was more centralized.