Halperin’s Out of the Cloister Literati Perspectives on Buddhism in Sung China has a nice classification and analysis of literati’s opinions on Buddhism. It shows us how the Song dynasty’s highly educated viewed Buddhism and Buddhist institutions such as temples, and how the opinions and critiques of Buddhism went far beyond the “Buddhist cloister”. In fact, he argues that different people have different ideas of Buddhism during the Tang-Song transition and illustrates a community of inscription writers that every member in this community has their purpose.
I read this book for one month and really admire the author. Generally speaking, this book is marked by the following advantages. He provides us with a lot of details in the footnotes, which …show more content…
Halperin shows that the majority of writers in Tang dynasty are eager to defend the Buddhist “faith”. He’s focusing on 7 representatives of Tang’s literati. They are Liang Su, Pai Chu-I, Tuan Ch’eng shih, Li Chao, Wei Kao, Ku K’uang and Liu Tsung-yuan. Halperin said, “Unlike all but a few Tang writers, Song literati combined their commemoration of rebuilt monastic sites with remarks on the distinctions drawn between different Buddhist approaches, celebrations of the imperial cult, political and social criticism, and personal reminiscences”(61). However, many Song literati, like Tang scholars, were devout Buddhists and employed these texts to demonstrate their faith. The author argues that Song commemorations reflect the many more meanings that Buddhist monasteries and worshippers had for later literati, including two monumental changes in Chinese intellectual life, the emergence of Chan as the dominant tradition within Buddhism and the revival of classical Confucian …show more content…
Some were critical for Buddhism, while others were admiring of Buddhism. Many literati expressed their dislike for Buddhism while at the same time they appreciate the cultural Buddhism. In some extent, Buddhist inscriptions became an academic seminar where literati could criticize their peers and government. Literati think it is safer to communicate with each other through the way of Buddhist inscriptions. However, Huang’s case was a counterexample, because court officials even had trespassed into their literary space and made unjust use of his inscription to convict him. Basically, the author calls attention to writer’s different attitudes to Buddhism. There are 3 contrasting types of voices: contentious voices, virtuous models and embarrassing successes. Besides, as Halperin said, “left resembling a bystander, distanced from the larger society, perceptive but ineffectual”(202), he argues that commemorations were also attempted to highlight the monastery in the writer’s personal
I read this book for one month and really admire the author. Generally speaking, this book is marked by the following advantages. He provides us with a lot of details in the footnotes, which …show more content…
Halperin shows that the majority of writers in Tang dynasty are eager to defend the Buddhist “faith”. He’s focusing on 7 representatives of Tang’s literati. They are Liang Su, Pai Chu-I, Tuan Ch’eng shih, Li Chao, Wei Kao, Ku K’uang and Liu Tsung-yuan. Halperin said, “Unlike all but a few Tang writers, Song literati combined their commemoration of rebuilt monastic sites with remarks on the distinctions drawn between different Buddhist approaches, celebrations of the imperial cult, political and social criticism, and personal reminiscences”(61). However, many Song literati, like Tang scholars, were devout Buddhists and employed these texts to demonstrate their faith. The author argues that Song commemorations reflect the many more meanings that Buddhist monasteries and worshippers had for later literati, including two monumental changes in Chinese intellectual life, the emergence of Chan as the dominant tradition within Buddhism and the revival of classical Confucian …show more content…
Some were critical for Buddhism, while others were admiring of Buddhism. Many literati expressed their dislike for Buddhism while at the same time they appreciate the cultural Buddhism. In some extent, Buddhist inscriptions became an academic seminar where literati could criticize their peers and government. Literati think it is safer to communicate with each other through the way of Buddhist inscriptions. However, Huang’s case was a counterexample, because court officials even had trespassed into their literary space and made unjust use of his inscription to convict him. Basically, the author calls attention to writer’s different attitudes to Buddhism. There are 3 contrasting types of voices: contentious voices, virtuous models and embarrassing successes. Besides, as Halperin said, “left resembling a bystander, distanced from the larger society, perceptive but ineffectual”(202), he argues that commemorations were also attempted to highlight the monastery in the writer’s personal