Buddhism and the Ming Dynasty.

Paper Summary:

This essay will examine the political involvement of Buddhism in the period of the Ming dynasty. It will be seen that this political involvement must be considered in terms of the conflict between Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism for dominance in the political life of China. In the time of the Ming Dynasty Buddhism was declining in influence among the Chinese elite and governing class. However, during this era of increasingly autocratic and chaotic political life, Buddhism became increasingly popular among the local and regional gentry class who began to disengage from the official administrative structures of Chinese political life. It will be argued that the Buddhist concept of "withdrawal" had clear political ramifications in this context, and was understood as such by the Neo-Confucian elite at the time, leading to increased criticism and suppression of a belief system that was increasingly at odds with the Neo-Confucian ideology of the Chinese state.

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