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Buddhism Dbq Essay

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Buddhism is an ancient religion that originated from India and gradually traveled to China through cultural diffusion . Many of the Chinese people liked Buddhism, which was also referred to as a “barbaric religion” according to the traditionalist. The Chinese saw their society as sophisticated and superior to any of the new ideas coming from the advance trade routes throughout their country known as the Silk roads. Due to the fall of the Han Dynasty and it’s chaos that it created, Buddhism was a peaceful distraction that gave people optimism when their government failed because of corruption and political disunity. Before Buddhism religions such as Daoism and Confucianism were popular in China, because of Buddhism, followers of the traditional …show more content…

In document #6, Tang Emperor Wu (845 A.D) expresses his dislike for Buddhist saying “ We have heard the Buddha was never spoken of before the Han Dynasty; from then on the religion of idols gradually came to prominence.” (Doc 6, Wu) The purpose of his writings was to expose Buddhism's faults, and the belief of China being better before the Han dynasty fell and Buddhism took shape. Traditionalist, who read pieces such as the 819 Confucian scholar Han Yu would agree that Buddhism ruined China’s sophisticated ways. Being an official of the Tang imperial court, Han Yu was very influential. “ The Buddha’s sayings contain nothing about our ancient kings and the Buddha’s manner of dress did not conform to our laws” (Doc 4, Yu) By exposing how Buddha changed Confucian society, Yu was trying to recruit others to the Confucians cause. Before Han Yu around 500, an anonymous Chinese scholar asked “ 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, Anonymous) To this author the practices of Buddhism were foreign compared to the classic Confucian writings in which they most likely followed. The …show more content…

Better known as the Silk trade routes, these advance system of trade brought Buddhism to China. By the 10th centuries Buddhist monotsraties and artwork were seen throughout China, similar to the image in document 7. The large amount of Buddhist influences helped the religion become something, it would never be seen as before; Chinese. Coming from India to China was a large cultural change. For one, China had a religion that governed over all called Confucianism, which was used in government and a way of life. A famous Buddhist scholar during the 9th century named Zong Mi, wrote “ All three teachings lead to the creation of an orderly society and for this they must be observed with respect.” ( Doc 5, Mi) His writings were for the people of the Tang dynasty, who favored his opinion. He mentions society, which leads the reader to believe the religion is widespread and having a effect on society. Unlike the next document which was written earlier around 221- 206 B.C.E the author of this piece was captured and held in the capital. He was an Asian monk by the name of Kumarajiva, who wrote about the perks of Buddhism in China. “ If there are persons who accept, uphold, read, and recite the sutra and understand its principles,... they will be received into the hands of a thousand Buddhas, who will free them from all fear and keep them from falling into the evil paths of

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Before Buddhism’s rise to popularity, Han China focused on distinctive practices, such as the Confucian way. This raises the question, how did Buddhism affect the role of women in China after the popularity of the Confucian practices in the Han Dynasty? Ban Zhao’s Lessons for a Woman explain how based on the Confucian doctrines, a woman’s fundamental duty was to serve others by putting others before herself, and this is observed even from their birth, all the way to their duties as a wife. In contrast, Buddhism, would change women’s role positively because they were regarded as equals to men, and they had agency, as illustrated in the Buddhist Doctrines and Practices by Wei Shou et al. However, some scholars may argue that Buddhism did not

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1819 Words | 8 Pages

Buddhism in China DBQ A little before the Tang dynasty there was the Han dynasty where Confucianism was a staple of daily life and government. When the Han dynasty dissolved and the Tang dynasty took authority. Buddhism began to spread widely all over China. Buddhism was met with all types of responses: some saw buddhism as a threat to Confucian family values, while some saw Buddhism as a way to disregard worldly pleasures and luxuries that would only bring them harm, and lastly some mixed on the concept of Buddhism had an issue with the ascetic lifestyle led by its followers. One of the responses to Buddhism in China was that it was thought that Buddhism was a threat to Confucian family values.

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346 Words | 2 Pages

During the period of time before 350 CE, some Chinese people had begun to like Buddhism. They favored it believing it established order. It was brought to China after the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE. The collapse made China unstable. Some people thought Buddhism was toxic, while others thought it was good for China.

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527 Words | 3 Pages

He also established Confucianism as China state’s religi. “ His administrative reforms left an enduring mark on the Chinese state, and his exclusive recognition of Confucianism had a permanent effect on subsequent East Asian history.” (Encyclopedia Britannica ,“Wudi”). In comparison to Wudi, Wang Mang ruled from A.D. 8 to A.D. 23. although he made a wide range of reforms, his efforts only caused problems with strong

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530 Words | 3 Pages

While Chinese initially accepted Buddhism and defended its policies, over the centuries others increasingly scrutinized Buddhism’s absence from past texts and used it as a scapegoat for political and social problems. When there was no empire to enforce laws, Buddhism gained popularity, but after imperial authority reemerged, Buddhism faced mounting opposition. 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. For a few centuries after arriving in China, Chinese defended and supported Buddhism. Zhi Dun praised Buddhism as providing a path to nirvana, though as an upper class scholar who probably did not personally feel threatened by invading nomads, his testimony does not necessarily reflect the danger lower classes likely felt.

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1137 Words | 5 Pages

The spread of Buddhism in East Asia had great success when the region became a center of learning for monks and scholars. Merchants in Central Asia came to the region for trade, and as they learned about Buddhism, they accepted this cultural adaptation. When the Chinese had their first contact with Buddhism through people from central Asia, who were already Buddhist, this religion expanded itself through the Chinese empire. As an interest was established for Buddhism in China, monastic orders were established causing political disputes between the emperor and Buddhists for the centuries to come. During the Han Dynasty, Buddhism enjoyed a great state support; however, after the collapse of the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty influences

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334 Words | 2 Pages

However, they did not follow the true Confucian philosophies. Instead, the emperor, Emperor Wu, had a very influential Confucian philosopher create a more emperor-centric base of Confucianism. Being forced to study a religion did not drive the Han scholars to work harder, they began to slack and almost

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1226 Words | 5 Pages

Buddhism, being founded by Buddha, spread through many trade routes religious missionaries sent by Ashoka. Through these Missionaries, Buddhism was able to reach many places, with one of these places being China. When Buddhism first arrived to China, it was met with mixed reactions which soon define Buddhism rough transition and diffusion into Chinese custom. Buddhism's advancement into China was a direct result of Buddhist monks emphasizing the spiritual benefits of Buddhism. In response to this; Buddhism was accepted by some while Confucian scholars and other high officials rejected it because they believed it was detrimental to China.

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468 Words | 2 Pages

The influence of Buddhism in China arose religious conflicts. One big similarity is the attack of outside invasions. Nomads lead several attacks on Rome and China. These attacks called for big armies, armies that the neither of them had. Therefore, the nomads overtook China and

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1779 Words | 8 Pages

China’s economy today is much different than that of what it was over three thousand years ago. China’s dynasties were heavily impacted not only by their dynasties, but also by: the wars that they have engaged in, the religious affiliations and Confucianism, and an assortment of different changes in technology, economy, and social and political systems. China’s civilization has experienced great changes that bring it to the country that is known today—some of the biggest changes have come within the times of the dynasty changes. Most of China’s civilization was built upon Confucianism, agriculture, and expansion—mostly with the use of wars.

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1812 Words | 8 Pages

Allusion: Allusion refers to when an expression makes an indirect reference to a person, thing, place or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. Example : "Oh Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due. Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel." (Frankenstein, pg 94).

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868 Words | 4 Pages

One of the world's most famous trade routes was the Silk Road. The Silk Road was not just any ordinary road. It was the global trading route where resources such as silks, spices, and golds traveled all the way from Asia to Europe. The Silk Road created many more job opportunities for the lower ranked people and helped the Buddhists spread their religion and from disappearing. The Silk Road so important that without it many of the countries would not be able to communicate with one another and get to know each other better.

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92 Words | 1 Pages

Ancient China, just like the rest of the world, was shaped by people. Everyone from the lowest class to the highest nobles played an important part, but some had an especially significant role in changing history’s path. One of these people was a man named Kong Qui, or, as he’s better known in the Western world, Confucius. He was born in 551 B.C. in the Lu state of China. Within his lifetime, he would become famous (or infamous, depending on who you asked) for his teachings and ideas that changed China irreversibly.

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345 Words | 2 Pages

The responses to the spread of Buddhism was dependent on what their place in society was. Most Confusion scholars and political leaders strongly sided against Buddhism, while other Chinese scholars and peasants exalted the new religion and advocated its ideals such as the philosophy of an afterlife, as it provided shelter during a politically unstable time. A third response to Buddhism came from both Buddhist and Chinese scholars, who tried to make Buddhism fit into the Chinese ideals and morals that were already in place at the time. Although Buddhism was looked down upon by most high ranking scholars as it did not fit into the traditions of China at the time, there was some who adopted the religion trying to convert others to it as well.

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2121 Words | 9 Pages

While he wasn’t very popular when he was alive, his teachings eventually gained popularity and evolved into what we know today as Confucianism. Confucianism can be described in many different ways; for example, it can be called a religion, a way of governing, or just simply a way to live your life. Through his writings and teachings Confucius taught what he believed they way that people should live their life or at least how people should strive to live their life. Confucius and his disciples focused on many things though his teaching in the Analects, one being goodness. The teachings of Confucianism focused heavily of respecting and being kind to one another.

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