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Buddhism, founded in India in the sixth century BCE, was rising in popularity among many peoples and eventually spread to China by the first century BCE. In China, Buddhism was faced with many mixed opinions. Some looked to it as truth and comfort and thought it was a good impact on society, others attacked the religion and accused it of being barbaric and a disturbance, and others tried to blend the new uprising religion with China’s existing philosophies.…
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Buddhism was first introduced to China in the first century C.E., a few centuries after it was first introduced in India. As expected, it was met with mixed results; some criticized it to the point of blaming it for the country’s social and political problems, some defended its beliefs and followed it without hesitation, and yet others remained pretty indifferent and wished to meld Buddhism with other religions and create a unique culture.…
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Once imperial rule was restored the scholars began to object to its many teachings, looking for logic to back their arguments. Han Yu, the leading Confucian scholar, believed that because there was a lack of Buddhist evidence in Confucius texts that the religion was barbaric and did not conform to ancient Chinese practices. (Doc #4) The Tang Emperor Wu, blamed Buddhism for downfalls under his rule such as hunger and poverty. He held much influence and many people began to listen to him and believe his grand scapegoat. (Doc #6) The perspective from an underclass citizen would have…
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In documents two and five, a more positive light is shone on Buddhism. Buddhism spread in China because it gave a hope to people who only saw the sorrows of life. Also, Buddhism brought along some order in the chaos that China was in during this time. China was in an uproar during the “age of warring states”. This time brought lots of sorrow, and the need for a hope that Buddhism brought. Buddhism gave the people something to work towards.…
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Although the fall of The Han and subsequent need for consolation beyond Confucianism led to the spread of Buddhism, it was met with mixed reactions. Being a religion of salvation it was popular with the ordinary citizens, but governments or groups seeking order opposed its unorganized guidelines. Therefore, Buddhism spread greatly during the period of the warring states, when there was no order and there was a need for salvation among the Chinese people.…
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Buddhism was founded in India and brought to China centuries after its founding. It slowly spread after the fall of the Han dynasty in 220 C.E. after that the religion continued to spread over the course of many years. The spread of Buddhism in China was during a period of disunity for China. It provided hope for some. However not all were excited for this new practice entering their homeland. Many chinese Scholars and even Tang Emperor Wu had some strong things to say about of the spread of Buddhism was helpful and hurtful to the chinese people.…
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The simple idea of introducing a new religion to society always has positive and negative affects. For example, the concept of spreading Buddhism from its origin, India, had developed both criticism and support. The spread of Buddhism happened quite quickly in China and the Chinese responded in one of two ways. They were either interested in Buddhism because of its teachings or they thought it was a barbaric thing. To analyze the overall feelings in China, we must understand and explain why many people were attracted to Buddhism(group 1), and we must understand why some people despised the spread of Buddhism(group 2).…
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Documents 1, 2, 3, and 5 all support Buddhism’s beliefs and encourage the practice of this religion. Document 1 is excerpted from Buddha’s first sermon in which he speaks of Buddhism’s most basic beliefs, the four noble truths. The four noble truths describe how to achieve enlightenment and salvation. This appealed to the Chinese lower class, specifically after the collapse of the Han. In document 2, Zhi Dun speaks of more religious practices of Buddhism, such as serving the Buddha and obeying the commandments. He also promotes the faith by speaking about its promise of enlightenment after death. Zhi Dun, who happens to be a scholar and confidant of Chinese aristocrats and officials, is bias in favor of Buddhism. This document was written around 350 CE, a time of distress and invasion in China. The Han Empire had fallen, thus putting China in a time of vulnerability. During this time in China, political leaders, such as Zhi Dun, had to win over all the members of society to restore the Han system of government, even the lower class. Zhi Dun, being a member of the upper class, promoted Buddhism in hope to gain the support of the lower class. Document 3 is trying to explain Buddhism in this question-and-answer formatted document. This anonymous Chinese scholar is also bias in favor of Buddhism because in 500 CE, when this document was written, Buddhism was still gaining political favor in China, as the empire was still in turmoil. Document 5 explains that Buddhism, as well as Daoism and Confucianism, lead to a harmonious society and the Buddha, along with Confucius and Lao zi,…
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The collapse of the Han Empire led the way for new religions, such as Buddhism to diffuse into China. While there were Chinese people who were supportive of Buddhism, there were also others who had either neutral or negative opinions about the spread of Buddhism in China. The power struggle between the two religions would later lead to the conflict and disunity within the state.…
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Many found solace in Daoist thinking, even emperors. Indeed, emperors did not fret the spread of Daoism because it offered little political threat. This movement considers political activity and learning to be of no consequence to a good life. The best way to achieve Daoist harmony with nature is through humility and frugal living. Daoism promoted an elaborate spirituality which created a distinctive division in Chinese philosophies. Daoism, Legalism, and Confucianism all shaped classical China’s civilization.…
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There were some who disagreed with Buddhism because they felt it as a threat to the Chinese way of life. The Tang Emperor, Wu stated that Buddhism poisoned the customs of the nation. He does not like the idea of people leaving their homes to follow the monastic decrees (Doc 6). Wu, being an emperor, is against the vast spread of Buddhism because a lot of people were converting, enough to outshine the imperial itself. He was probably trying to go against Buddhism to protect the imperial from a possible “invasion” or conflict between church and state. Han Yu writes about a servant of the king that calls Buddhism a cult of the barbarian peoples and says it does not conform to their laws (Doc 4). And despites the thought of the community greeting the bone of Buddha and states that Confucius said: “Respect ghosts and spirits, but keep them at a distance!” Han Yu, being a leading Confucian scholar, most likely agrees with the…
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After the fall of the China’s Han Dynasty in 220 CE, the views of Buddhism in China changed. When China experienced a period of instability during 220 CE and 570 CE, Buddhism was being accepted. However after 570 CE and the period of instability, Buddhism wasn’t really accepted, but it wasn’t denied either. It is clear that many people in China felt the Buddhism should be followed (Docs 1,2,3,5), some people thought it should be avoided (Docs 4 and 6) and some people were considering following Buddhism (Docs 3 and 5). An additional document that would further help analyze the reactions to the spread of Buddhism in China would be the statistics of who followed and who didn’t because it would show how many people of the country wanted to follow Buddhism, how many were and how many didn’t want to.…
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to 907 C.E. was when scholars, leaders, and Confucian supporters addressed the impact, mainly the negatives, that Buddhism had on China. Being a Confucian scholar and official at the Tang imperial court, Han Yu very much discouraged the Buddhism beliefs. In the “Memorial on Buddhism,” in 819 C.E., he talked about how he thinks Buddhism is evil and he then brings up that fact that acts done by Buddhists, contrast with Confucius’ sayings. (Document 7) The Tang Emperor Wu himself also finds Buddhism to be evil and he believes it should be abolished, so that it does not continue to ruin the Chinese culture. (Document 6) However, a Buddhist scholar named Zong Mi pointed out that even though Confucius, Laozi, and the Buddha approach their followers and teach them differently, in the end all three beliefs have the same purpose. Zong Mi’s purpose was to address the issue with people saying Buddhism has a negative impact on the society in China, so he makes a statement that includes the two beliefs that originated in China to show that Buddhism, along with the others, should be shown with respect. (Document 5) Therefore, later on under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, it appears that Buddhism had made major impacts on China allowing officials to speak up about their…
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Buddhism originated in India in the sixth century B.C.E. and was brought to China by the first century C.E. Overtime, many Chinese people converted to Buddhism, especially after the fall of the Han dynasty. During the Era of Division between 220 C.E. and 570 C.E., many Confucian and Buddhist scholars viewed Buddhism as a positive, unifying force for China during that tough time of instability because it gave the people something to look to for hope. However, after 570 C.E., Confucian scholars started rejecting Buddhism, feeling that it was becoming a threat to the scholar-gentry class and the Confucian-based Chinese society as a whole. Despite this change of opinion about Buddhism after 570 C.E., some scholars continued to feel that Buddhism benefitted China due to its values and teachings. One additional document that could be useful would be one from the point of view of a peasant to see the way Buddhism effected the lower classes of China before and after 570 C.E. and to see if they saw Buddhism as a positive or negative factor in their lives.…
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The living world religions fall within one or more of the different types of religious belief mentioned below: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism and Traditional Religion.…
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