Buddhism In China Dbq Essay

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. According to the Tang emperor Wu, edict:

According to Tang emperor Wu: “Now if even one man fails to work the fields, someone must go hungry; if one woman does not tend her silkworms, someone will go cold. At present there are an inestimable number of monks and nuns in the empire, all of them waiting for the farmers to feed them and the silkworms to clothes them while the Buddhist public temples and private chapels have reached boundless numbers, sufficient to outshine the imperial palace itself.” (doc. 6) How emperor Wu presents this the kingdom is definitely not at a surplus and is most likely struggling. Ascetic worship requires constant praying and reflection and this cannot be done for person who is working the fields. It is not stated whether Buddhism is the reason crop yields are very low but it seems implied by the mentioned of the temples, monks, and nuns. The Buddhist religion would have to have been popular enough to empty the fields of most of its workers. The author of this example is a Tang emperor complaining about not enough workers being in the fields so he must have been unsatisfied with the Buddhist religion and its ascetic ways. The low crop yields weaken the dynasty so the emperor would of course have been unhappy. As for the other high officials who were in support of the Tang dynasty they most likely would have been unhappy also. As for the other members of the dynasty, when the yields grow low enough the Buddhist ways would make them dissatisfied. Another piece of evidence is from an anonymous Chinese scholar: “....but simple living and inaction are the wonders of the Way.” (doc. 3) This document is showing that living simply and without luxuries, and that being inactive society and personal life in staple or wonder of the way of Buddha. So this was a very important part of Buddhist livelihood and most likely kept up most of their daily routines/lives keeping them from working the