Description

Enlightenment in Dispute is the first comprehensive study of the revival of Chan Buddhism in seventeenth-century China. Focusing on the evolution of a series of controversies about Chan enlightenment, Jiang Wu describes the process by which Chan reemerged as the most prominent Buddhist establishment of the time. He argues that the revival of Chan Buddhism depended upon reinventions of previous Chan ideals, which had been largely lost after the Song dynasty.

Wu investigates the development of Chan Buddhism in the seventeenth century, focusing on controversies involving issues such as correct practice and lines of lineage. In this way, he shows how the Chan revival reshaped Chinese Buddhism in late imperial China. Situating these controversies alongside major events of the fateful Ming-Qing transition, Wu shows how the rise and fall of Chan Buddhism was conditioned by social changes in the seventeenth century.

Examining the role of textual practice and the implication of dharma transmission in rebuilding Chan institutions, Wu argues that the Chan revival was actively coordinated to coincide with the transformation of Chinese culture and society. His study concludes by bringing the Chan revival to a larger historical context and reflecting on its legacies, ultimately establishing a general pattern of past Buddhist revivals.

Reviews

"Truly a work of merit for the history of religious and intellectual thought, practice, and sociopolitics in later imperial China, this book by Jiang Wu is a very welcome addition to scholarship on the changes in Chinese learned culture from the late sixteenth to the early eighteenth century. It is carefully composed to offer access for readers on several levels, from the relative newcomer to Chan Buddhism to the seasoned sinologist. Those who specialize in the late Ming and early Qing period will find that Enlightenment in Dispute completes our picture of the late-Ming 'Buddhist revival' by extending its canvas to include maturation and decline. Wu's book also makes an essential addition to our current knowledge of Buddhism in seventeenth-century elite social life, and it forms a fascinating complement to our understanding of 'fundamentalist' trends in contemporaneous Confucian thought and ritual practice." --Lynn Struve, Professor in the Department of History, Indiana University

"This book opens up new venues for thinking about Chinese Buddhism in late imperial times." --Religious Studies Review

"Jiang Wu's Enlightenment in Dispute succeeds in its bold claim that the revival of Chan Buddhism deserves to be seen as playing a significant role in 17th-century Chinese history. Among Wu's many important findings are his specific tracing of Chan in late Ming thought and factionalism, the significance of Chan 'textual spirituality' in the intellectual questing of the time, the surprising use of the law in the adjudication of disputed Dharma transmissions, the intersections of Chan with Ming loyalist sentiments and actions, and the central part played by Yongzheng (first as prince and then as emperor) in defining Chan doctrinal legitimacy and ultimately his own enlightenment. The book is a valuable addition to our studies of China's turbulent and formative 'long seventeenth century.'" --Jonathan Spence, author of The Search for Modern China and Return to Dragon Mountain

Product Details

480 pages; 21 b&w halftones; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4; ISBN13: 978-0-19-533357-2ISBN10: 0-19-533357-8

About the Author(s)