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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism
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Building the Buddhist Revival - Reconstructing Monasteries in Modern China (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R2,641
Discovery Miles 26 410
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Building the Buddhist Revival - Reconstructing Monasteries in Modern China (Hardcover)
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Between 1850 and 1966, tens of thousands of Buddhist sacred sites
in China were destroyed, victims of targeted destruction,
accidental damage, or simply neglect. During the same period,
however, many of these sites were reconstructed, a process that
involved both rebuilding material structures and reviving religious
communities. The conventionally accepted narrative of Chinese
Buddhism during the modern era is that it underwent a revival
initiated by innovative monastics and laypersons, leaders who
reinvented Buddhist traditions to meet the challenges of modernity.
Gregory Adam Scott shows, however, that over time it became
increasingly difficult for reconstruction leaders to resist the
interests of state actors, who sought to refashion monastery sites
as cultural monuments rather than as living religious communities.
These sites were then intended to serve as symbols of Chinese
history and cultural heritage, while their function as a frame for
religious life was increasingly pushed aside. As a result, the
power to determine whether and how a monastery would be
reconstructed, and the types of activities that would be reinstated
or newly introduced, began to shift from religious leaders and
communities to state agencies that had a radically different set of
motivations and values. Building the Buddhist Revival explores the
history of Chinese Buddhist monastery reconstruction from the end
of the Imperial period through the first seventeen years of the
People's Republic. Over this century of history, the nature and
significance of reconstructing Buddhist monasteries changes
drastically, mirroring broader changes in Chinese society. Yet this
book argues that change has always been in the nature of religious
communities such as Buddhist monasteries, and that reconstruction,
rather than a return to the past, represents innovative and
adaptive change. In this way, it helps us understand the broader
significance of the Buddhist "revival" in China during this era, as
a creative reconstruction of religion upon longstanding
foundations.
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