Missionary's Conception Of Chinese Buddhism In The Late Qing Dynasty

Religion-Encounter is an important issue at the beginning of the modern missionary movement in C hina.Specifically speaking,the encounter between Protestantism and C hinese Buddhism is an important part of it.This thesis explains one aspect of the Buddhist-Christian Encounter: the missionary's argument and discussion of Buddhism,as well as their conception of Buddhism in this process by researching the monograph articles,correspondences,editorials about Chinese Buddhism in The Chinese Recorder.In the late Q ing Dynasty,The Chinese Recorder published 37 contents on Chinese Buddhism,including twenty-eight articles,three bibliography introductions,four Correspondences,one editorial and one picture.Most authors of which are protestant missionaries in China,and most of them have the identity of Sinologists.After studying these contents,this paper discovers that the starting point of protestant missionary's studies on Chinese Buddhist history is to find a historical reference for missionary movement.They tend to think that Buddhism is theism in the course of practice,and the Buddhist ceremony was deemed as superstition and exclusion.In addition,some missionaries believed that there are some similarit ies in the life of the Buddha and C hrist,the organization and even the dogma of Buddhism and Christianity.They think Buddhism is the preparation of C hristianity in C hina.From the point of view of the missionary Sinology,the long-term discussion about Chinese Buddhism makes The Chinese Recorder a promotion platform to display the achievements of missionary Buddhism and the exchange platform for missionaries to study Buddhism.The concerning about C hinese Buddhism in The Chinese Recorder also showed the further development of missionary Sinology.At the same time,The Chinese Recorder also shows the diversity of missionary's conception of C hinese Buddhism.Even in the early twentieth century,in the background of the rising of Comparative Religion and the revival o f Modern Chinese Buddhism,there were still many missionaries holding an intense attitude on Chinese Buddhism.In the late Qing dynasty,missionaries' long-term discussion on Chinese Buddhism in The Chinese Recorder laid the foundation of the real dialogue between Protestant and Buddhism.The rest part of this thesis brings forward the period of Republic of China and discusses those articles about Tai Hsü in The Chinese Recorder.This thesis argues that missionaries show a more friendly attitude towards C hinese Buddhism and there are more contacts between Protestantism and Chinese Buddhism during this period.