Buddhist Revival in China

by Holmes H. Welch

Of all the world's major religions, Chinese Buddhism has probably experienced the most traumatic modernization. The establishment of a communist state quickly emerged from the self-contained Manchu Empire. The consequences are described in this book. Holmes Welch offers the first detailed account of the careers of recent Buddhist leaders and of the diverse organization they started. Eighteen Chinese Buddhist associations are identified as the author traces the struggle for national leadership. The role of T'ai-hsü, the leader best known to Western readers but not, it is shown, among Buddhists, is given a controversial reassessment.

After examining the main features of the revival, Welch puts them into a larger political framework. In the process, he offers copious evidence that our picture of Chinese Buddhism has been distorted. What has been termed a "revival" was actually a secular reorientation. The author's conclusion is that this secularization, vigorous as it was, in reality foreshadowed the decline of Chinese Buddhism as a living religion.

Genres: China, Religion

426 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Jessica Zu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly a classic! At the same time, it is really a pity that for more than 40 years scholarship on Chinese Buddhism in the first half of 20th century has made absolutely no progress. This is especially deplorable given that hundreds and hundreds research articles and scholarly monographs have been published on this subject from food, sports, gender to politics, power and military. The registered monks and nuns during that period is about half a million, not to mention those we choose to be ordained in different ways and those who choose to be lay practitioners. To ignore Buddhism in China is not simply to ignore Buddhist people but to ignore the fundamental structures of meaning that sustains and guides the structures of power. Thus, it is truly a shame if were not for Xue Yu's recent book on Buddhism and Nationalism in China that fills in this abyss of scholarship in modern China.

[versarbre · Rating 5 out of 5]

The must-read for a Chinese history of religion -- not only for its content, but also for Welch's methodological sensitivity as a historian.