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Ap World History Buddhism Dbq Essay

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During the sixth century, B.C.E. Buddhism commenced to spread into numerous areas around the world, but it was brought into China by the first century C.E. and the responses from the people were highly diverse. Numerous Chinese accepted the new belief that was brought in while others were scornful and thought of it as a belief of the barbarians. After the imperial structure was restored the popularity of Buddhism started to decline and numerous began to criticize the belief. Before the imperial restoration in 570 C.E. Buddhism was an acceptable religion within the borders of China, but after 570 C.E. the reputation of Buddhism began to diminish. However, as the times progressed it was difficult to follow the religion since there was great …show more content…

Han Yu, who was a Confucian scholar and official at the Tang imperial court highly disdained Buddhism, he states that Buddha was incapable of speaking the Chinese language and that the man belonged to the barbarians and he should not be worthy of worshiping. “Your servant begs to leave to say that Buddhism is no more than a cult of the barbarian people spread to China. It did not exist here in ancient times.”(Doc. 4) in this quote from the document, one is able to observe that Han Yu did not accept Buddhism. Furthermore, according to Tang Emperor Wu, he states that the ways of Buddhism have poisoned the customs of the Chinese nation and he also detests the fact that people most leave their family in order to follow a teacher. Additionally, he argues that the belief in injuring humankind and destroying laws. “Having thoroughly examined all earlier reports and consulted public opinion on all sides, there no longer remains the slightest doubt in Our mind that this evil should be eradicated.”(Doc. 6) this section of the document indicates how the Emperor highly disliked the religion and wished for the complete eradication of …show more content…

When China was being invaded by steppe nomads, Zhi Dun praised the religion but did not feel the need to mention other religions showing that he did support Buddhism, but faced difficulties to follow the religion in given circumstances. “...and who furthermore make a vow to be reborn without ever abandoning his sincere intention, will at the end of his life, when his sould passesaway,be miraculously transported thirhter.”(Doc. 2) show his great belief in the promise of a better afterlife but he does not mention any other religion to compare Buddhism to. Furthermore, the Anonymous Chinese scholar face difficulties in answering questions who greatly were against Buddhist practices and the scholar had to develop a way to positively answer those question while favoring Buddhism as a religion that should be worshipped. “If Buddhism is the greatest and most venerable of ways, why did the great sages of the past and Confucius not practice it?”(Doc. 3) this demonstrates the type of question asked to the scholar and expected to be answered in a manner that would accept the ways of Buddhism. Moreover, Zong Mi, leading Buddhist scholar, called Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism the perfect sages and in a way he defended Buddhism without criticizing Confucianism and Daoism.

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Buddhism was appealing to women because of the view that they were equal to men. In detail, Wei Shou’s “Summary of Buddhist Doctrine” in the Buddhist Doctrines and Practices explains “Women who enter the path are called nuns...if they can comprehend the rewards for good and bad acts they can gradually climb to the level of sages...” (83). This review is important because it recognizes both men and women as equals who can both accomplish salvation. Furthermore, in the “Lives of Eminent Monks”, Tiaohua writes to Seng Du, who she was previously engaged to, for leaving her and the ancestral rites and teachings of Confucian society to become a monk. Seng Du responds to her, saying “Men and women of the world, however, should adapt themselves to the times...you should pursue what you desire and admire.

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China was then invaded by Central Asian steppe nomads. The spread of Buddhism in China between 350 CE and 900 CE transformed Chinese society by establishing order and creating unity after the instability from the collapse of the Han Dynasty, even though the people's views on it were very mixed, some positive and some negative. Both documents 1 and 3 agree with each other. Both of these documents agree that Buddhism

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The religion of Buddhism first appeared in India during the sixth century B.C.E and its teachings migrated to China by the first century C.E., gradually winning over the Chinese people following the collapse of the Han dynasty in 220 C.E. Buddhist influence continued its expansion in China for several centuries. Throughout Chinese history, China reacted to the spread of Buddhism within its empire in several ways: some valued its policies for their implications in Chinese culture, others condemned Buddhist ideals for not being original to the empire, while many remained indifferent towards Buddhism and its spread. Support for the spread of Buddhism became most evident among Chinese scholars. An anonymous scholar believed that the old Confucian philosophies of China were nothing in comparison to the greatness of Buddhism, even going as far as to compare the sages to the Buddha as swallows to a phoenix (document 3). Additionally, he admires the dedication that the Buddhist monks showed; the monks enjoyed the act of living and inaction, freeing themselves from worldly pleasure.

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DBQ 2004: Responses to Buddhism in China In Tang China, Buddhism was seen by some as a peaceful and honorable religion that would improve China, while others met it with scorn, denouncing it as an evil faith that threatened traditional Chinese or Confucianism values. Some Chinese scholars and officials praised Buddhism for its focus on peace, enlightenment and the curbing of the desires in an effort to reduce suffering in the world.

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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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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.

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Buddhism gained the endorsement of a series of emperor, plus the Buddhist mentality and response to negativity allowed Buddhism to spread in Chinese society. A great examples of how monks would react was when a monk was asked why Buddha was not mentioned in the great Confucian classic and so the monk answered “All written works need not necessarily be the words of Confucius. To compare the sages to Buddha would be like comparing deer to a unicorn.. ”(Doc 4) here you can clearly see the tone of relaxation and understanding that the monk uses to respectfully answer the question of the Confucian scholar with utmost respect, at no moment does the monk feels hate because his faith is being questioned and at no moment does he demonstrate hate in his response toward the scholar. The Buddhist peaceful and humble nature on top of teaching that promised happiness and prosperity made it so Buddhist were not disliked by everybody in China.

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By calling Buddhist followers Barbarians in an angry tone, it challenges the ideas taught by Buddha, Confucianism protects their culture (Document 5). The emperor of China, Emperor Wu in the year 845 CE would address the people of China showing how the Mandate of Heaven would incorporate Confucian ideas showing these were better for China. Angrily he challenges Buddhism and he orders the people of China to follow the ideologies of the emperor. In China, Buddha was never spoken of before the Han dynasty so because of this no one should follow Buddhist ideals, because it will continue to ruin the Chinese country (Document 7). Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty was seen as a threat to the traditional lifestyle of the Chinese society, and thus receive constant attacks from the emperor and

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Buddhism arrived in China during the Han dynasty, as a Hindu influenced religion from India. Missionaries set out to spread the new religion and taught merchants from Central Asia about Buddhism and they accepted it as their religion. Trade and cultural ties between China and Central Asia also increased causing it to spread through Central Asia along the Silk Road. Many cave monasteries were established along the trade routes across Central Asia due to the support of these merchants. During this time China was divided into many smaller kingdoms, therefore there wasn't much organized resistance to the new religion.

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This was shown by Zong Mi who was a scholar who supported Buddhism but when the Tang dynasty took control he started calling Confucianism equal to Buddhism to make sure that he would stay in favor of the emperor. In conclusion, Scholars don’t

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That reputation was an outcome of a long conflict between China and the Tibetan peoples. Buddhism was introduced to China in the first century BCE and it had periods of decline and revival since then. Buddhism was also the religion of the people in the Tibet, yet the two types of doctrine were different. During the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911) the emperors were taught by the Dalai Lamas of the Tibet, and that gave a lot of pride to the people of the Tibet. After the British invasion of the Tibet, in 1904 the dispute was settled down between them, and the British gave the Chinese a full control of the Tibet

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