The Introduction and Rise of Buddhism in Ancient China
... the Sutra in forty sections, thus effectively introducing Buddhism to China. The acceptance of Buddhism by the Chinese people was a gradual and complex process. The process began with the collapse of the Later Han Dynasty at the beginning of the third century C.E. which catapulted China into a period of absolute chaos and civil war. During the Later Han Empire the official ideology of the State (China) was the social discipline called Confucianism. Confucian principles emphasized hard work, the subordination of the individual to community interests and the development of strong family ties . The collapse of the Han Empire markedly affected the Chinese psyche; therefore, the principles of Confucianism which were supposed to bring them prosperity were challenged by the people. The Chinese believed that Confucianism and its stale way of thinking were to blame for the civil war in their country. This led many Chinese to turn to more messianic creeds that emphasized the supernatural or the promise of heavenly or earthly salvation. Buddhism met this criterion, and as a result the adoption of Buddhism as a way of life had begun in China around the third century C.E. It is logical to deduce that the main opposition to Buddhism would result from the supporters of Confucianism. As seen before, Confucianism was the official ideology of the state during the Han Dynasty, and the introduction of a foreign doctrine such as Buddhism is bound to encounter resistance from the followers of Confucianism. Buddhism’s notions of renunciation of worldly matters, including those of family ties to achieve enlightenment were directly opposed to those of Confucianism which emphasized the importance of family. Buddhism had other incongruities that existed with the Chinese ideology of Confucianism which resulted in it being opposed by followers of Confucianism. For instance, Buddhism did not focus on the problems of the state as did Confucianism so was viewed as unproductive. Also, the ideas of Confucianism when compared to Buddhism were easier to understand, where as, the latter’s ideas were mysterious in nature and often too esoteric for Chinese tastes. Besides opposition by Confucianists, Buddhism in China faced other obstacles, such as the difficulty of translation of Buddhist texts to Chinese. But by about 700 C.E. it was able to survive in China, and was at its height in East Asia. Written communication played a significant role in Buddhism’s survival in China. Before the fall of the Later Han dynasty, the Sutra in forty sections along with other key texts had been translated into Chinese from Sanskrit, albeit crudely. The translated texts would give the Chinese people at present and the future generations a better understanding of Buddhism and aid its survival. The influx of Indian monks into China after the introduction of Buddhism in the third century C.E chose to propagate their faith by preaching and in turn converting as many Chinese people as possible The most significant Indian monk was Kumarajiva who came to China in 405 C.E.He was responsible for revising the Chinese translations of the Sutras, especially the Diamond Sutra which has done more to popularize Buddhism with the educated classes than all the other Sutras put together. In the fifth and early sixth century C.E. Buddhism continued to gather its adherents in the form of literary figures and the upper classes. Buddhism’s most famous patron was Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty who ruled the South of China from 502 to 509 C.E. and was a convert to Buddhism. During his reign he called for the abolition of all other religions (mainly Daoism and Confucianism), built Buddhist temples and monasteries, and made Buddhism the State religion in the South. A trend of the adoption of Buddhism by other rulers in China took place, for example, in the North the rulers of the Toba state who were to find the Northern Wei Dynasty around 440 C.E had adopted Buddhism as well. This continued because it provided th...