Buddhism
Following the collapse of the Han Dynasty, Buddhism's popularity gradually began to grow in China. Based on these documents, there were two distinct responses China had do to control the spread of Buddhism. Firstly, they needed support from Chinese scholars and citizens and secondly disdain towards it from those in direct power of China. Part of the reason Buddhism spread was because it was a missionary religion. Many educated Chinese supported the religion as they created written records highlighting the appealing aspects of the religion.Those in direct control over China showed their opposition towards the religion by describing it as a threat to China and its people.
As Buddhism spread from India to China beginning in the first century C.E., it was met with mixed results. Many Chinese accepted Buddhism and defended its policies while others scrutinized Buddhism’s absence from past texts and used it as a scapegoat for political and social problems. Still others remained indifferent, wishing to meld the aspects of belief systems in China to create a unique Chinese culture. Documents 2 and 3 defend and support Buddhism in China, while documents 4 and 6 scrutinize it and discourage its spread. Documents 1 and 5 neither encourage nor discourage the religions spread, but provide a third perspective on how it should be dealt with. An additional document that shows the actual numbers of converts to Buddhism during this time, preferably in a graph, would be useful in determining whether or not the worries of the authors in documents against Buddhism were grounded. Documents 2 and 3 defend and support the spread of Buddhism in China during first century C.E. Document 2 speaks of the many joys of joining the Buddhist religion. However, the author, Zhi Dun, is of the upper class of China and as such, his testimony does not tell how lower classes felt. Yet, in a time when Asian steppe nomads were invading northern China, Zhi Dun could have easily
As Buddhism spread from India to China beginning in the first century C.E., it was met with mixed results. Many Chinese accepted Buddhism and defended its policies while others scrutinized Buddhism’s absence from past texts and used it as a scapegoat for political and social problems. Still others remained indifferent, wishing to meld the aspects of belief systems in China to create a unique Chinese culture. Documents 2 and 3 defend and support Buddhism in China, while documents 4 and 6 scrutinize it and discourage its spread. Documents 1 and 5 neither encourage nor discourage the religions spread, but provide a third perspective on how it should be dealt with. An additional document that shows the actual numbers of converts to Buddhism during this time, preferably in a graph, would be useful in determining whether or not the worries of the authors in documents against Buddhism were grounded. Documents 2 and 3 defend and support the spread of Buddhism in China during first century C.E. Document 2 speaks of the many joys of joining the Buddhist religion. However, the author, Zhi Dun, is of the upper class of China and as such, his testimony does not tell how lower classes felt. Yet, in a time when Asian steppe nomads were invading northern China, Zhi Dun could have easily