ipl-logo

How Did Buddhism Affect The Tang Dynasty

763 Words4 Pages

Religions like Daoism or Buddhism and philosophies like Confucianism had great control over how East Asia was run. These ideologies resonated with all walks of life from the time: Buddhist karma gave the common people something to look forward to; Confucian guidelines made the relationship between government and the governed better; Daoism gave purpose to many spiritually confused people. Some government officials used the influential powers of these religions to make political gains. Others used certain aspects of the religions to dissent from the government’s tight grip on society. Most used them to find inner peace and motivation.

Even though Buddhism existed long before the Tang Dynasty, it tremendously impacted the Tang Dynasty. It arose …show more content…

Many people looked towards Buddhism for solutions to all of their problems. The popularity of Buddhism made rulers curious about the religion itself. Various emperors however, did various things. Some sent people to India to find more about it, some promoted it for personal gain, and some tried to destroy it, but most supported it. Buddhism encouraged rulers to be kind and understanding to others, and to do good deeds. The rise of Buddhism stirred interest in all people, including empresses. Buddhism gained great power during the time of Empress Wu (628-705 AD), the wife of the 2nd and 3rd emperors in the Tang Dynasty. She gained power when the 3rd emperor died, becoming the only empress in all of Chinese history. Since the aristocracy before her favored Taoism over Buddhism, she encouraged the growth and spread of Buddhism to weaken her opponents. The more Buddhists there were, the less Daoists there …show more content…

It was used in many previous dynasties as a guide to ruling. For example, in the Han Dynasty, government officials were chosen based on whoever scored the highest on an exam about the theory of Confucianism. Therefore, the most highest ranking officials were scholars who had mastered Confucianism best. The Tang government also made the ruling officials follow the ideas of Confucianism to rule the people. Confucianism enforced loyalty, order and respect, and was based on the principle of “ren”, or compassion and kindness. Love for one's ancestor was necessary. This idea is based on the Chinese tradition that associates old age with wisdom. The system of belief had many virtues that fit an ideally kind and gentle world, where each family has its place beneath the ruler, each individual has his or her place in the family, and no force was required. Confucianism influenced Chinese society greatly. Most Chinese officials knew Confucianism and followed it. The emperor was regarded as the Son of God, while the district magistrate, or the emperor's representative, was treated as the father of the people. Theoretically, the relationship between the emperor and the magistrate was two sided—the subjects could ignore the emperor if he did not take good care of his subjects. In reality, however, the system was heavily biased toward the authorities. Confucianism lost much influence in Tang Dynasty while

Show More
Related
538 Words | 3 Pages

Confucian principles emphasized the ruler's responsibility towards the people, and the idea of "benevolent governance" or "ruling by virtue" was upheld. The government officials were selected based on merit through the civil service examination system, which aimed to promote capable individuals to serve the state and the people. Tang Dynasty is known for people's regulations like births, deaths and

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
687 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
762 Words | 4 Pages

The perception of Buddhism varied greatly from the collapse of the Han Dynasty to the formation of the Tang Dynasty in China. At the same time, the perception towards Christianity in the Roman Empire was undergoing similar changes. Emperors saw the religion as a threat, lower classmen saw it as a path to salvation, while scholars, as a whole, were indecisive. Those in power perceived Buddhism as a strain on China’s society and economy as well as a threat to their rule.

Read More
1037 Words | 5 Pages

Buddhism is a religion founded in the 5th century, by Buddha the person who then helped spread it into places like India and much of China and continuing to spread into some parts of Asia. The vast amount of trading routes such as the silk road in Asia helped Buddha and his views spread. This new religion clashed with other great religions such as Christianity causing some’s responses to Buddhism to be alarming. However, these were only a small amount of responses, the greater response to Buddhism in China was very positive with many supporting the idea that Buddha brought which was peace and enlighten.

Read More
1137 Words | 5 Pages

Buddha intended and had his sermons toward large audiences, which would be towards laborers or people in lower classes so that his sermons would have mass appeal. In Document 2 there was political statements from Zhi Dun that stated that Buddhism’s only purpose was to deliver a sense of protection to the lower class people who were afraid. Zhi Dun was a Chinese scholar, which is a class held high in Chinese society, so his views toward Buddhism did not reflect the ideas of the masses of people who believed Buddhist

Read More
964 Words | 4 Pages

Most of the civilization was uninterested in the religion, as seen in Document 1. The Asian monk and scholar wrote about how they saw it as equal to other religions, yet were incurious about it. The Qin monk is trying to persuade others to convert to buddhism, so when they die they will reach Nirvana and it will ‘Free them from all fear and keep them from falling into the evil paths of existence. Buddhism first became popular, when Kumarajiva himself translated these Buddhist texts into Chinese. This made the texts available to all, and laid the foundation for the acceptance of Buddhism.

Read More
213 Words | 1 Pages

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.

Read More
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.

Read More
937 Words | 4 Pages

The Tang Dynasty in particular did not like the idea of a foreign religion seeping into a society that was “middle earth” as stated in Emperor Wu’s Edict on Buddhism document. Emperor Wu and his followers believed that Buddhism causes people to leave their homes and neglect their jobs, along with Chinese teachings and customs. This was true in the way that Buddhism requires detachment resulting in followers leaving to join monasteries. Also, the number of people who followed Buddhism grew and so did monasteries, who did not pay taxes. Buddhism greatly annoyed the Tang government because conflicted with rules and procedures set in place long before it arrival.

Read More
1529 Words | 7 Pages

An example would be Ashoka’s use of Buddhism “as a unifying ideology or imperial-level religion” to build the Mauryan Empire (Davis: 21). Another example would be Empress Wu Zetian’s use of Buddhism to legitimize her control by portraying herself as “Maitreya, the future Buddha” (Sen and Mair: 54). This is a stark contrast of politics and the use of religion before and during the Mongolian rule. In other words, Genghis Khan and the Mongols successfully separated politics and religion into two different entities.

Read More
229 Words | 1 Pages

In Ancient China, three philosophies/religions were prominent. Out of those three, Buddhism was the most powerful. The religion was growing powerful and it was hard for the government to keep under control. So, they created a new religion in the Tang dynasty. The Tang used Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism and converged them together to create Neo-Confucianism.

Read More
603 Words | 3 Pages

Around 1200 B.C.E, Dynasties chose their rulers or emperors by a system called the Mandate of Heaven. Mandate of heaven was a belief that a higher power like the Gods, would select their ruler. The first Chinese ruler to claim his throne came directly from heaven. This is a belief that was built off of chinese traditions of worshiping their ancestors. If the chosen Emperor fails to be kind and rule by the moral standards of the Gods, natural disasters and rebellions would happen and he would eventually be overthrown.

Read More
485 Words | 2 Pages

Confucianism thought that a ruler should be like a father by setting good examples for the people of China. He also thought that a ruler should be honest, good, and wise in order for the people to follow him. “But he said the best way to rule was through an honorable government and right relationships”

Read More

More about How Did Buddhism Affect The Tang Dynasty

Related Topics

Open Document