The Influence Of Zen Thought On Social Change In The Middle And Late Tang Dynasty And Five Dynasties

The middle and late Tang Dynasty and five Dynasties is one of the biggest change period in Chinese history.There are many tangible changes in this period's production methods,social structures,ideology and ideas.The Zen thought,which is the most lively ideology factors in this period,has all-round and far-reaching influence in this period's society.As a case study,this doctoral dissertation researches the relation between the Zen thought and the innovation of Tang and Song by the method of combined ideology with sociology,which need to sum up the essence of the Zen thought,and then clarify the way that the Zen thought changing Chinese traditional Buddhism and the cause and effect of the Zen thought and the secular society.These researches will make further efforts to clear the generating transformation of Buddhism in China,solve the problem of the innovation in Tang and Song Dynasties,and then grasp the characters of Chinese and history and Chinese civilization.Firstly,the doctoral dissertation sketches the characteristics of this period in the Qin and Han Dynasties.In the acts of the social scale,the social structures has transition from the noble society,which based on genetic connection,to the master-slave society,which based on imperial power and common people.In the acts of the thought scale,the thought structures has transition from the rank to the value.Buddhism as a part of the ideology factors of Chinese society,it is also unsustainable to exist as metaphysics and witchcraft.Secondly,the doctoral dissertation analyses the characteristics of the Zen thought.Originally,Zen is just a practice method from Ancient India.While,in the development of Chinese society,Zen isn't only enriches its ideological system,performs its unique organization,but also builds closer interactive relation with the secular society.There are academic,religious and social dimensions to the Chinese Zen.Because of the different emphases,Chinese Zen has many sects,such as the ascetic Zen,the Tiantai Zen,the Northern Zen and the Southern Zen.They are paid to individual mo-ksa,rational analysis,conscious activity,subject and object relationship separately.Explain the world from an individual point of view is the Zen thought's essential feature.Chinese Zen thought has a religious view emphasized volition and a social view emphasized value.Thirdly,the doctoral dissertation examines the influence of the Zen Thought on the Buddhist society and the secular society.In the middle and late Tang Dynasty and fiveDynasties,the Southern Zen has a major impact on the Buddhist society.In terms of the organization,the Baizhang Rules as the representative,standardizes the Buddhist Church's structure and regulation,which make the Buddhist Church become a relative independent charismatic religious organization rather than culture department relied on secular authority.In the terms of the core concept,the Zen quotation as the representative,explains the Buddhist problem domain and principles,which make Buddhism relies on self-nature,insists prajna thought and disenchants external standard and value in the real life.In terms of the relationship between the Buddhist society and the secular society,Guifeng zongmi Chan master and Yongming yanshou Chan master as the representative,interpret the thought characters and relations of the Confucianism,the Buddhism and the Taoism.They hold that the Buddhism has advantages of theoretic and practice,which is an inseparable part of the secular thought.Compared with the Buddhist society,there are much more sects influence the secular society,including the Tiantai Zen,the Northern Zen and the Southern Zen.The Northern Zen monks have religious association with secular people,which make them require unity value,devote much attention to the subjective initiative,and then display willable tendency in the social life.The Tiantai Zen monks have academic association with secular people,which make them regard the order in Medieval Society as negative,rationally participate social practice and then display practical tendency in the social life.The Southern Zen monks have cultural association with secular people,which make them produce individual awakening,formulate the moral social evaluation standard,and then display ideal tendency in the social life.Finally,the doctoral dissertation summarizes the significance and value of the influence of the Zen thought on the middle and late Tang Dynasty and five Dynasties'social change.The most important influence of the Zen thought is re-energizing Chinese humanism through the Buddhist mode of thinking.On the one hand,Buddhism,as a cultural existence,adapts the society development,the secular society.On the other hand,the secular society establishes the ideological system,which adapts the social structure.Compared with the ideology from Qin Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty,the ideology of the middle and late Tang Dynasty and five Dynasties changes the way to maintain social stability and doesn't change the maintained goals,disenchants the order holiness and enchants the value holiness,which prolongs the period of Chinese Medieval society objectively.From the ideological,social and personal aspects,we can determine that the society after the middle Tang Dynasty have left the Medieval society,but not enter the modern society.