The Huichang Persecution of Buddhism () was initiated by
Emperor Wuzong (Li Chan) of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
during the Huichang era (841–845). Among its purposes were to appropriate war funds and to cleanse Tang China of foreign influences. As such, the persecution was directed not only towards
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
but also towards other religions, such as
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
,
Nestorian Christianity, and
Manicheism.
Rationale
Emperor Wuzong's economic, social, and religious reasons for persecuting Buddhist organizations and temples throughout China were as follows:
* ''Economic reasons'': In 843 the emperor's armies won a decisive battle against the
Uyghur tribes at the cost of almost
bankrupting the country. Wuzong's solution to the financial crisis was to go after the wealth that had been accumulated in the Buddhist monasteries. Buddhism had flourished greatly during the Tang period, and its monasteries enjoyed tax-exempt status. In 845, Wuzong closed many Buddhist shrines, confiscated their property, and sent the monks and nuns home to
lay
Lay may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
*Lay, Loire, a French commune
* Lay (river), France
*Lay, Iran, a village
* Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
People
* Lay (surname)
...
life.
* ''Social reasons'': Confucian intellectuals such as
Han Yu railed against Buddhism for undermining the social structure of China. They claimed it eroded the loyalty of son to father, and subject to ruler, by encouraging people to leave their families and to become monks and nuns. Once they had been ordained, they stopped engaging in economic activity such as agriculture and weaving, and live from the support of others. The persecution sought to return monks and nuns to the ranks of tax-paying commoners engaged in what was perceived to be more useful economic activity. Additionally, monastic
money-lending,
pawnbroking
A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...
, and employment of
slave labor were seen as inherently exploitative of the poor, with a decree in 713 stating, “it is claimed that the purpose of this generosity is to relieve the poor and orphans. But in fact there is nothing to it but excess and fraud. This is not a legitimate business.”
* ''Religious reasons'': While Wuzong saw Buddhism as a foreign religion that was harmful to Chinese society, he became a zealous follower of
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
, a faith native to China. Buddhism preached the attainment of non-birth or
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...
, which its critics equated with death, while Taoism promised immortality, a notion that increasingly captured the attention of the emperor as he grew older.
An imperial edict of 845 stated the case against Buddhism as follows:
Events of the persecution
The first phase of the persecution was aimed at purifying or reforming the Buddhist establishment rather than putting an end to it. Thus, the persecution began in 842 with an imperial edict declaring that undesirables such as sorcerers or convicts be separated out from the ranks of the Buddhist monks and nuns, and returned to lay life. In addition, monks and nuns were to turn their wealth over to the government; those who wished to keep their wealth would be returned to lay life and forced to pay taxes. During this first phase, Confucian arguments for the reform of Buddhist institutions and the protection of society from Buddhist influence and practices were predominant.
Gradually, however, the Emperor Wuzong became more and more impressed with the claims of some Taoists, and came to develop a severe dislike for Buddhism. The Japanese monk
Ennin, who lived in China during the persecution, even suggested that the emperor had been influenced by his illicit love of a beautiful Taoist princess. As time went on, the emperor became more irascible and erratic in his judgments. One of his edicts banned the use of single-wheeled wheelbarrows, as they break up "the middle of the road," an important concept of Taoism.
In 844 the persecution moved into a second phase, aimed at removing Buddhism altogether rather than the reformation of Buddhism. According to a report prepared by the Board of Worship, at the time there were 4,600 monasteries, 40,000 hermitages, 260,500 monks and nuns. The emperor issued edicts that Buddhist temples and shrines be destroyed, that all monks (desirables as well as undesirables) be defrocked, that the property of the monasteries be confiscated, and that Buddhist paraphernalia be destroyed. By the edict of AD 845, all of the monasteries were abolished with very few exceptions, with all images of bronze, silver or gold handed over to the government.
In 846, the Emperor Wuzong died, perhaps on account of the elixirs of life he had been consuming (although it is also possible that he was intentionally poisoned). Shortly after his death, his successor proclaimed a general amnesty, ending the persecution.
Persecution of other religions
In addition to Buddhism, Wuzong persecuted other foreign religions as well. He all but destroyed
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
and
Manicheism in China, and his persecution of the growing
Nestorian Christian
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...
churches sent Chinese Christianity into a decline, from which it did not recover until the establishment of the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
.
It most likely led to the disappearance of Zoroastrianism in China.
Chinese records state
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
and
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
were regarded as
heretical forms of Buddhism, and were included within the scope of the edicts. Below is from an edict concerning the two religions:
Islam was brought to China during the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
by
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
traders but had never had much influence outside of Arab traders. It is thought that this low profile was the reason that the 845 anti-Buddhist edict spared Islam.
See also
*
Buddhism in China
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...
*
Four Buddhist Persecutions in China
The Four Buddhist Persecutions in China were the wholesale suppression of Buddhism carried out on four occasions from the 5th through the 10th century by four Chinese emperors, during the Northern Wei, Northern Zhou, Tang and Later Zhou dynasties ...
*
Persecution of Buddhists
References
Sources
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Persecution of Buddhists
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