Buddhism In Rome And China

China has been the home to various religions. At different times different dynasties endorsed certain religions while repressing others. While Buddhism flourished during the Sui and Tang dynasty, it faced opposition from the government during the Song dynasty. Confucianism lost government endorsement during the Sui and Tang but gained momentum during the Song as Neo-Confucianism. Yuan dynasty promoted Islam and Tibet Buddhism but ignored Confucianism. Different rulers sponsored and protected different religions but Confucianism and some form of Buddhism have always been alive in Chinese society from 600 to 1450.

Buddhism was founded in India and brought over to China by the first century C.E. As Buddhism spread all over China, it had both positive and negative feelings toward it. According to some of the documents, it shows how China accepted Buddhism and tried to defend any hate that it got. While some of the other documents blamed Buddhism for problems that the country was facing. The remaining documents didn’t really show any emotions toward it. An additional document that would show Buddhism's’ appeal in China would be a the amount of people who tried Buddhism and their opinion on it.

The spread of Buddhism in China received positive and negative responses. It was greatly accepted among many Chinese people, and others believed it to be true evil. Document 2 and 3 show some of the positive responses; that Buddhism was what every person needed to follow, that Nirvana was the life goal. While documents 4 and 6 show some negative views on Buddhism, they explain the pure evil that is was. Document 1 does not show any favor for or against Buddhism, and Document 5 is not just for Buddhism, but also Confucius and Laozi.

China was affected tremendously by the spread of Buddhism from 300 to 900 C.E. Buddhism itself was spread to China around 100 C.E by Indian missionaries, and after taking hold during the Era of Division (300s-500s), it became a household religion (particularly the Mahayana and Chan variations . Buddhism’s popularity rose consistently from the late Han dynasty through it’s peak during Empress Wu’s rule in the late 600s and early 700s. But, the religion’s popularity fell sharply during Emperor Wuzong’s reign as the persecution of Buddhism grew common (CONTEXT). The spread of Buddhism affected all classes and people of China in different ways; Chinese peasants were able to worship this religion regardless of education or social position (though

There are multiple reasons why and how Buddhism spread in China. I feel that factors like, religion, politics, and social, played a major part in spreading Buddhism throughout China. The factors mentioned are usually a contributor in global changes and has definitely played its part in China’s adapting a new belief. Of course there were other reasons, like economic, that caused the people of China to gravitate to the Buddhist ways. People reconsidering their faith, due to many of life downfalls or the weight of participants in something that’s new, gained recognition and spread due to popular demand. During the political chaos from 221 to 589 that came with the collapse of the Han Dynasty, Buddhism started to become a strong existence in

Eusebius’s The Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine and Mou Tzu’s The Disposition of Error both reveal the difficulties of implementing a new religion into a region that had held prior religious beliefs. Eusebius writes about Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity in a Rome where Christianity was illegal before Emperor Constantine’s reign, hoping to change perspectives on Christianity (Smarr, Roman response to Christianity). Mou Tzu, on the other hand, attempts to bring people closer to the ideals of Buddhism, stating that one can be “a good Chinese and a good Buddhist” (Mou Tzu, 274). Although one would assume that Eusebius and Mou Tzu’s writings are a result of acceptance of their religions, they were not; their biased writings

In the article, “A Silk Road Legacy: The Spread of Buddhism and Islam” by Xinru Liu, the author discusses the dominance of Buddhism in Central Asia and how the religion made its way from Central Asia into China, India, and other parts of Asia. Xinru Liu also discusses how the regions in Central Asia were divided into many city-states that never unified. Because of this, no region in Central Asia ever had an official religion and there was a variety of religions practiced by the people, such as Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism. Xinru Liu also points out the Arab conquest to Central Asia and the important Silk Road trading stations that were located there that they wanted control of. Xinru Liu discusses the introduction of Islam to Central Asia during this conquest and how it was established there and then later spread to other parts of Asia, such as India. Finally, Xinru Liu discusses the influence on Central Asians from many different outsiders and what life was like for the people before, during, and after the rise of the Islamic Empire and how Central Asians have survived and thrived under the constant changing environment.

Buddhism carries into China a number of thinking which are predestined to become dominant factors in the Chinese attitude in the direction of life and death, society and cosmos, etc. The ideas, such as paradises and hells, karma and rebirth, emptiness and reality, bondage and liberation, impermanence and suffering, are all requisite to the development of Chinese literary thoughts, let's say, the poets as Tao Yuanming, Wang Wei, Bai Juyi, Su Shi are noticeably swayed by the beliefs of Buddhism. New literature styles are carried into the field of Chinese Literature. During Tang dynasty, the interpretation of Buddhism literature was widespread and Chinese poems at that time was subjugated by lines with a fixed number of syllables and rigid rhythms.

Both Emperor Wuzong and Han Zu were annoyed with the continued growth of Buddhism in China, as reflected in their writings. Both treated Buddhism as if it was a disease that was corrupting exquisite, age-old Chinese culture, much like nowadays when conservatives think about things such as gay marriage. Wuzong and Han Zu cite how Buddhism basically manipulates the naive farmers into supporting a bunch of freeloading monks. However, the reason that is both said and implied is that classic

Confucianism battled with the spread of Taoism and Buddhism in China, while the Middle East dealt with minority populations of Judaism and Christianity. Chinese empires and Islamic empires both implemented policies in regards to minority secular and non secular entities, including government sponsorship, and coalitions between different philosophies and religions.

This is do to the fact that when Buddhism and Daoism were becoming religions they borrowed a lot from each other. While some of the concepts may be different they were both a refreshing way to act. Confucianism had dominated a lot before the age of division and the people were tired of it. In Ge Hong’s autobiography it seemed that he was really laid back and didn’t want to be given anything. Ge Hong’s self virtuous ruled over his actions and his story is very similar to that of the Buddhist monks. Comparing him to Seng Baozhi, they both tried to gain knowledge at a young age and they have a similar story of walking around in the cold. Ge Hong says “My clothes do not protect me from the cold… yet none of this causes me worry”(Source,93) while in the passage about Seng Baozhi it is said that “At one time Baozhi was walking in the cold without any upper garment”(Source, 101). This shows that no matter if it was Buddhism or Daoism people were trying to find something to believe in when the people were separated. The people may be grouped differently but they all hold common beliefs and want to improve

Buddhism was founded in India in the sixth century B.C.E. and gradually moved to China after the fall of the Han dynasty in 220 C.E. For several centuries Buddhism influenced China greatly. During that time to 570 C.E., China experienced an era of political instability and disunity, afterwards which the imperial structure was restored. During the 1st century C.E. the spread of Buddhism from India to China was met with mixed results, in which many Chinese people accepted Buddhism and advocated its principles such as the philosophy and promise of afterlife over the Confucian ideals that were previously instituted, but the truth was that Chinese masses turned to Buddhism for its promises of eternal enlightenment during times of struggle and invasion

Compare and Contrast: The Spread of Christianity and Buddhism in the End of the Classical Period.

Buddhism for centuries, has long been influencing the population all over the world, specifically in China . Buddhism first came to China as a result of merchant traders from India. From there it spread within the merchant community. It mainly expanded because it gave people a sense of hope and faith with the chaos they were experiencing from the collapse of the Han Dynasty. It also spread because it covered what Confucianism lacked; a more spiritual and emotional approach that appealed to many people of different classes. It is because of this that Buddhism spread and was able to influence and greatly affect China during the period of 300-900 CE. Buddhism influenced philosophy and moral teachings, kept the Chinese society peaceful and orderly, as well as affecting the overall economy. Buddhism had strong religious teachings that appealed to the lower class with the idea of afterlife and nirvana as well as an emphasis on following your own path that transformed Chinese beliefs causing a large portion of the population to convert (doc’s 1,4). Buddhism kept the Chinese society orderly by reminding all of Buddha’s life and teachings with statues and the influence it had on monks to spread charity and missionary work (doc’s 2,3,6). Buddhism also had an effect on the economy of China. As it spread from other regions, it caused more farmers and silk producers to convert and spread the religion as monks and nuns. (doc 7,5).

resulted from the fall of the Han Empire in 220 C.E. gave Buddhism its foothold in Chinese