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Establishing the Boundaries of Chinese Civilization
Gregory Williams
China is one of the most important countries of the world. This country was
known for being the Center of the world. In this paper, I’m going to explore the questions
of how Buddhism entered China. I will focus on Mouzi who wrote the first book on
Buddhism written by a Chinese for Chinese. He explained why he converted and then
answers commonly asked questions about Buddhism. I will also establish the foundation
of the Chinese civilization, and their sense of being the one true culture in the midst of
barbarian civilizations were very noticeable from the first dynasty. “The Chinese saw
their domain as the self-sufficient center of the universe and derived from this image the
traditional Chinese name for their country- Zhongguo, literally the middle kingdom,
surrounded on all sides by so-called barbarian peoples whose cultures were demonstrably
inferior by Chinese standards” (Worden, 4). Confucius has said “the barbarians, even
when having their rulers, are inferior to the people of Hsia (the Chinese) who have none”
(Zurcher, 264). Confucius lived in the Zhan period, so this is when the Chinese/
Barbarian distinction was becoming increasingly clear.
“One of the great themes in the history of Eastern Asia was the transformation of
the Chinese culture by Buddhism.” (A. Wright, 245). “The invasion of Buddhism was a
carrier of elements of one great civilization into another culture. Buddhism introduced
different aspects of Chinese culture, which transformed and cut across the barriers of the
cultures it was invading. Little is known about the period of incubation when Buddhism
started to take root in Chinese soil, tolerated and hardly noticed as a creed of foreigners,
or adopted in Taoist guise, as a new road of mortality” (Zurcher, 18).
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It was during the Shang dynasty (1700-1027 B.C) that Chinese culture was firmly
established. The second important contribution of this dynasty is the writing system was
developed from the bone oracles, which were used in civilization rituals directed at the
royal ancestors. When the king died hundreds of slaves were buried in his grave
(Worden, 6). These two important contributions were connected to each other to later
practice ancestor worship.
The Western Zhou (1027-221 BC). The chieftain of the frontier tribe Zhou
overthrew the Shang dynasty. China was separated into a number of independent states. “
The term feudal has been applied to the Zhou period because his decentralized rule
invites was compared with medieval rule in Europe. His rule was also seen as a more
sophisticated version of earlier tribal organization in which control depended more on
family ties than feudal legal bonds. The system he established of city and state was
centralized and established increasingly impersonal political and economic
institutions”(Worden, 7). In 771 B.C the king was killed by barbarians. The capital was
moved eastward and this was when the historians divided the Zhou era into Western
Zhou (1027-771 B.C) and Eastern Zhou (770-221 B.C). This was the beginning of the
end of this dynasty. The eastern Zhou was divided into two sub periods. The first was
known as the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C), and the second the Warring
State (475-221 B.C)where different states fought each other until the state of Qin beat
them all (Worden, 8).
In 221-206 BC the Qin Dynasty was established. This dynasty established the
administrative model that was followed in its fundamentals, for the next 2000 years. He
was considered as the First Emperor of china. “Qin was the greatest of bad examples,
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demonstrating that totalitarian enforcement of law, repression of dissent, and heavy
burdens of taxes and forced labor will lead swiftly to the collapse of the government that
seeks to impose them” (Wills, 33). “The transformation of the Chinese world into a type
of political order took place within the years of rule of the man who became the first
emperor; its collapse occurred just four years after his death” (Wills, 38). These decades
make one of the most important turning points in Chinese history. “Qin was successful in
conquering the rest of china in a few hundred years The Qin (pronounced “chin”)
Dynasty was very important as far as establishing Chinese culture and society. He was
able to unify the warring states into a single centralized state. Qin implemented the
legalist form of government. “Feudal inheritance of rank and office never, highly
developed in Qin and weakening everywhere, was abolished; rank and honors were given
only for merit in battle. Vestiges of feudal restrictions on the buying and selling of land
were abolished. Common people were rewarded for productive activity in farming,
weaving, and other crafts, but also punished for nonproductive activity, such as trading”
(Wills, 39). “He established the fundamentals patterns of bureaucratic government that
persisted, with many permutations, down to the end of imperial rule in 1911 and have
echoes even in the party, army, ministry structure or power in the People’s
Republic”.(Wills,44). Some people say his order was a work of political genius. He
established 36 commadaries areas that were subdivided into counties. The commanders
of each area had to report to Qin in writing. The Qin Dynasty established the
standardization, and unifies the language, writing, currency, and axle length in China. In
his era the theory of the five powers were developed, earth, wood, metal, fire, and
water.(Wills,38) Qin also built the Great Wall of China to protect the people, culture,
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and society against the invasion of the barbarians. They didn’t want the uncivilized
culture of the barbarians to invade their society which they thought was the center of the
world. “The Great Wall was used to mark the limits of Chinese agriculture, culture, and
society. They wanted to keep out the north that was fostered by another and hostile way
of life” (Willis, 38).
The first Emperor was very successful because he was a legalist and burned all of
the books of other countries to keep no records, and was very strict with his people and
government officials, and generals. He killed them if they were late or didn’t carry out
his orders. Qin was also very successful because of the Iron Age. He had more iron
weapons than the other armies did. He had many great accomplishments, like taking the
walls that were built by prior dynasty and connecting them for defense purposed (Willis,
50). He also standardized money, weights, measures and axel lengths. “Qin was seen by
most Chinese political thinkers as the antithesis of good government because he turned its
back on the lessons of antiquity, exalting the rule of law, silencing high-principled
scholars, imposing heavy burdens on the common people” (Wills, 50). These faults of
Qin led to his downfall. “Revolts against him spread throughout the empire rapidly.
Many of the rebels who were commoners and aristocrats hoped to restore the old separate
states. The first revolt was a retribution for the excessive rigor of Qin code of laws.
Some men who worked on the Great wall were late for work due to rains, flooding, and
the penalty for being late was death” (Willis, 50). So they knew that they had to join the
revolt because they had no future working with Qin. “They were not successful in killing
him but their revolutionary ideas brought the downfall of the Qin Dynasty in 206 B.C the
dynasty was completely overthrown, and succeeded by the Han Dynasty”(Wills, 50).
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The Qin was followed by the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. -220 A.D), which is looked
at one of the most important Dynasty of China. They took everything the Qin Dynasty
did and took it to the next level because they invented Chinese history, as we know it
today. At this time china was the largest country in the world and bureaucracy was very
important. They changed a lot of the government systems because the system that was in
place was one of the main downfalls of the Qin Dynasty (Wright, 9). The people were
frustrated with the Qin leaders and the Legalist form of the government. “Han was
successful because they implemented Confucian and Taoist ideals into its Legalist form
of centralized bureaucracy. This new foundation of sociopolitical order came to be
known as ‘Han Confucianism’ that was taken from Taoism to rationalize man in nature.
The Han Dynasty gave people the opportunity to start businesses and weakened the
state’s hold on the peasantry. The Han was also successful in conquering other areas of
China, Vietnam, and Korea. It started trade with the people in inner Asia. Iron works, salt
manufactures were all established during the Han era. They had better irons tools for war
and building structures. Internal and external trade flourished and there were great
advantages in technology and the arts” (Wright, 9). This is how the Silk Road was
established. Agriculture grew which helped to increase the country’s wealth. They were a
very advanced culture. “The Han Dynasty experienced the wealth; power, enlarged
political, and economic responsibilities with a population around 56 million. They lived
the metropolitan lifestyle building large empires with many palaces” (Wright, 9).
“The Han’s greatest accomplishment as far as taking bureaucracy to another level
from feudal, institutions was one of the major reasons for the fall of this great Dynasty.
The rich wanted to get richer and the poor got poorer” (Wright, 20). “They had many
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quarrels about power over the throne, intellectual efforts to diagnose and prescribe for the
ills of the times, and a mass alienation and revolt among the peasantry. There were fights
between the eunuchs against the intelligentsia. It also weakened the upper structure of
Chinese society. This deepened the crisis of the peasants economy and signs of political
malaise appeared. People started to lose trust and faith in Confucius ideas. This left the
Chinese people searching for a solution to their problems of the fallen state and society.
They were in search of a remedy to the ill times. The emptiness opened the door, or
planted a seed for a new idea such as Buddhism. People started to dislike Han
Confucianism; the fall of the Han Dynasty was also the fall of Confucianism” (Wright,
20).
Some people even turned back to Taoism because this was a well established
tradition of Chinese thought. This didn’t work because it only led to more corruption.
People even started neo-Taoism but found no positive means of restoring a viable society,
some retreated into pure escapism (Wright, 21). “The loss of north China which was a
‘debacle’ had incalculable psychological, social, and cultural consequences in the
centuries that followed. All of these factors provided connections in which an alien
religion might be expected to find a ‘following’. This opened the door to Buddhism that
already started to spread throughout the Han Dynasty” (Wright, 21).
“Buddhism was a new fresh idea that went through the adaptation which made it
accessible and intelligible to the Chinese” (Wright, 22). “They were particularly desirous
of knowing whether Buddhism could add to their knowledge of elixirs and practices
would contribute to longevity, levitation, and other super human achievements” (de Bary,
Bloom , 421). Buddhism spread from Indo-Iranian and Serindian Kingdoms along the
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routes of trade between those kingdoms. Buddhism was spreading from the northwestern
city of Tun-huang, which was known as a major Buddhist center, and spread as far as the
southwest coast where Indian trades brought Buddhism to the Chinese out-post of ChiaChou (de Bary, and Bloom, 421).
“ As Buddhism spread from its homeland it became the harbinger of civilizations
that it penetrated. However in contrast to this statement by the time Buddhism was
introduced to China, China had a civilization that was already established so firmly by
the Han Dynasty that it was difficult for Buddhism to penetrate China. China was a
classic canon, time-hollowed tradition, and the conviction that its society was the only
true civilization in the world. Buddhism had to compete with indigenous philosophical
and religious systems to win the hearts of the Chinese. Chinese people already had a
misconception of Buddhism” (de Bary, and Bloom 420).
The early Buddhist missionaries found at the scriptures containing these
prescriptions were what the Chinese wanted most to read, and so they proceeded to
translate them. Men like Parthian, who was the first undoubtedly historical personality in
Chinese Buddhism, initiated the systematical translation of the Buddhist texts and
organized the first translation team (Zurcher, 32). This was the beginning of Buddhist
literature in China (de Bary, and Bloom, 421) Buddhism was first accepted as a sect of
the religion Taoism. Another major difference that caused problems was the language
difference between China and India.” In early efforts in oral discourse, written
translation, and exegesis to present Buddhist ideas in Chinese language and metaphor,
there was necessarily a heavy reliance on the terms and concepts of indigenous
traditions” (Zurcher, 32). Buddhism had somehow to be “translated” into terms that the
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Chinese could understand. For example the Indian gesture of love and respect for a
Bodhisattva were simply eliminated. Another example is “husband support your wives”
was translated into “The husband controls his wife”. The Chinese believed that the
husband was in control of the household and that they wife should submit everything to
there husbands. In their attitudes towards the individual the two traditions were poles
apart at the beginnings of the invasion of Buddhism. The Chinese didn’t analyze the
personality into its components, while India had a highly developed science of
psychological analysis. “The two traditions diverged most critically in their social and
political values. Familism and particularistic ethics continued to be influential among the
Chinese even in an age of cataclysmic change, while Mahayana Buddhism taught a
universal ethic and a doctrine of salvation outside the family. The Chinese concentrated
their efforts on formulas for the good society; Indian and Buddhist thought focused on the
pursuit of other worldly goals” (Wright, 34).
Not everybody was a fan of Buddhism. There were people who feared its
influence, when Buddhism had gained a sufficient foothold on society. Many people
attempted to strike back. In the north they attacked Buddhism in the form of official
persecution or curtailment, while under the southern dynasties (317-589 c.e) they fought
back with polemics. For example in the Sutra on a Filial Son (almost certainly of
Chinese, not Indian, origin) in which the Buddha rejects the traditional "Chinese" notion
of "filial piety" (i.e. providing parents with delicious food, nice clothes, good music, etc.)
on the grounds that such things ultimately make it harder for the parents to attain
Buddhist salvation; therefore, it argues that "true" filial piety involves pursuing a
Buddhist life for oneself and converting one's parents to Buddhism. This is an excellent
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example of how Chinese Buddhists dealt with the conflict that was created by the
"intellectual" clash of these two civilizations. In this case, India said "retreat from the
family" whereas China said "family is everything": the Buddhist response combined both
positions by saying that one could pursue a Buddhist path (i.e. breaking the bonds of
attachment) while still honoring one's obligations to one's parents (i.e. helping them work
towards their salvation) (Hoffert).
“The main problem existed around issues such as political and economic
arguments, utilitarian arguments, arguments based on feelings of cultural superiority, and
moral arguments” (Zurcher, 261). “Many followers of Buddhism answered these issues.
For example a Buddhist by the name of Mouzi, who was apparently a layman who
converted to Buddhism. He had an exchange of questions bent on criticizing Buddhist
ideas and practices from a distinctively Chinese perspective. Mouzi claim was “that it’s
possible to be a good Chinese and a good Buddhist at the same time. The books, and the
great truths preached by Buddhism are preached, if in somewhat different language, by
Confucianism and Daoism, It was called Disposing of Error” (de Bary, and Bloom, 422).
He defended issues like “Why is Buddhism not mentioned in the Chinese
Classics? This was answered by the fact that “all written words need not necessarily be
words of Confucius, and all medicines do not necessarily consist of the formula of Bian
Que” (de Bary, and Bloom, 422). Zurcher says it would therefore be unwise to reject
Buddhism as “heterdox” because the sage never mentioned topics like Karman, rebirth,
enlightenment, or nirvana. Buddhism also attempted to defend the tradition to various
more or less fantastic theories, such as: 1. Buddhism was indeed mentioned by the
ancients. 2. Buddhism was known long before Confucianism; 3. China had been
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converted to Buddhism under Asoka; 4. Confucius and Lao-tzu are disciples or
manifestations of the Buddha.( Zurcher, 269).
Another of the great obstacles confronting the early Chinese Buddhist was
celibacy, since one of the most important features of indigenous Chinese religion is
devotion to ancestors: “if there is no descendant to make offerings, then there is no
sacrifice” (de Bary, and Bloom, 423). This connects with the Shang religious practices
that were described earlier in this paper. Mouzi answered this by saying, “Wives,
children, and property are the luxuries of the world, but simple living and doing nothing
are the wonders of the way” (de Bary, and Bloom, 424).
Death and rebirth was another big issue at the inception of Chinese Buddhism.
“Chinese ancestor worship was premised on the belief that the souls of the deceased, if
not fed would suffer. Buddhist denied the existence of an immortal soul, as well as the
notion of reincarnation”(de Bary, and Bloom, 425).
Why should a Chinese allow himself to be influenced by Indian ways? This was
one of the most frequently objections rose by Confucian and Daoists when Buddhism
acquired a foothold on Chinese soil. Mouzi answered this by reflecting on the history of
China Confucius was taking residence among the nine barbarian nations (de Bary, and
Bloom, 425).
Does Buddhism Have the No Recipe for Immortality? This was another one of the
big obstacles facing Buddhism inception in Chinese civilization. People said that
Buddhism was useless and didn’t ensure prosperity of the state or the happiness of the
individual, and consequently was a senseless waste of time and money (Zurcher, 262).
“Daoism tended to focus on the quest for immortality displaying an attitude of superiority
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with regard to questions of life and death. The Chinese originally were interested in
Buddhism because they wanted to achieve superhuman qualities, among them,
immortality. Mouzi counters saying that if teaching of Daoism is properly understood,
there is no seeking after immortality. Mouzi said Talk of immortality is superstitious and
unfounded; it is not the word of the sages. Laozi said Even Heaven and Earth couldn’t
last forever. How much less can human beings?”( de Bary, and Bloom, 426). “Other
monks said every Chinese school of thought derives its raison d’etre from its practical
efficacy in regulating society i.e., in effecting “order” and “transformation” by
instruction. They had to conform to this pattern of thought to prove the utility, and the
right of existence of Buddhism” (Zurcher, 263).
“Feelings of cultural superiority and self-sufficiency had always been strong
among the Chinese. Buddhism bore the stigma of its foreign origin, and it was generally
felt to be alien to the character of Chinese civilization, says Mout-zu’s imaginary (but
undoubtedly true to life) adversary” (Zurcher, 264).
Another one of the most controversial issues of Buddhism was not displaying any
signs of respect to laymen in positions of authority, not even to the emperor. “The sangha
claims to be an autonomous organization free from any obligations towards the secular
authorities and not liable to state supervision” (Zurcher, 256). “Huiyuan (334-417)
answered this issue in a letter to the highest minister saying “like other laymen, there
were obligated to etiquette and acknowledgement of loyalty and respect for their
sovereign, the Buddhist clergy, who by the nature of their life and aims were far removed
from ordinary men, could not go through the outward signs of obeisance” (de Bary, and
Bloom, 426).
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When Buddhism started to become very popular in the north and south China,
there were abstruse philosophical discussions in salons that brought together the cream of
the society and the best wits from the great metropolitan monasteries. Buddhism was
often interpreted in terms of Daoism and the alternate translation of neo-Taoism learning
of the Mysterious prevailed, and Buddhism’s Indian origins were somewhat effaced (de
Bary, and Bloom, 421).
Buddhism’s earliest claim to exist beyond the authority of the state was
transformed in Tang China when it became an arm of the state. “The institution of
superintendent of the Buddhist clergy (sangha) which first appeared under the Northern
Wei in the mid-fifth century marked the inception of this transformation. This
superintendent headed a bureaucracy staffed by the lays official or nominal “monks”
charged with the oversight of monoastic affairs” (de Bary, and Bloom, 476). This was a
good example that Buddhism was a part of the Chinese society.
“Buddhism, in China as anywhere else, was not a mode of thought or a
philosophical system, but, primarily, became a way of life, a code of regularized
behavior”(Zurcher, 224). “Doctrinal Buddhism developed in China at least three hundred
years after Buddhism’s presence was first noted in the first century. It arose not as a
result of violent schisms or protestant revolts but an outgrowth of tendencies already
manifest in the earlier period of Buddhist thought” (de Bary, and Bloom, 433). Buddhism
and its teaching was embedding into Chinese civilization, culture and society by the 5th
century. Many people still Buddhist didn’t agree with the way it was practiced, and this
opened the door for new practices of Buddhism like Pure Land, Tendai, Zen, and
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Mahayana. The Buddhism of India became the Buddhism of China and, later, of Korea,
Japan, and Vietnam (de Bary, and Bloom, 433).
Looking at the significance of this exploration I would like to conclude that
Buddhism had a very difficult time setting up a foundation in the already established
Chinese way of living. I think that Mouzi did a very good job answering all the issues
that were presented to Buddhist and had an important role in the acceptance of Buddhism
in China. Especially issues like Filial piety: “what Conufucianist emphasized as the
cardinal virtue” (Fairbank, Reischauer, 45). Buddhism acceptance was made easier
because Chinese turned India Buddhism into Chinese Buddhism. They made it there own.
In contrast of the group project I think this is significant because China and Japan
went through the difficult process of adapting a completely different cultural element of
the unique circumstances of its own cultural environment.
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Work Cited
De Bary, Wm. Theodore and Irene Bloom. Sources of Chinese Tradition: From Earliest
Times to 1600.2nd Edition, Volume 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.
Fairbank, K., & Reischauer, E.. China: Tradition and Transformation Revised Edition.
Boston: Houghhton Mifflin Co,1989.
Wills, John E., Jr. Mountain of fame: Portraits in Chinese History. Princeton, N.J:
Princeton University PRESS, 1994.
Worden, L. R. China a country study. Washington: Federal Research
Division, 1987.
Wright, Arthur F., .Buddhism in Chinese history. Stanford, Calif., Stanford University
Press, 1959.
Zurcher E.,. The Buddhist Conquest of China. E.J.Brill, Leiden, Netherlands, 1959.
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/dharmadata/fdd74.htm March 17, 2003
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Introduction of Buddhism into Chinese
Civilization
Gregory Williams
Independent Study
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