A Probe Into The Participation Of Monks And Nuns In The Sui And Tang Dynastie

Indian Buddhism associated with politics very early.The relationship between religion and politics is the unity of opposites in Buddhist texts.This became the original foundation of political participation of monks and nuns.Buddhism was introduced into China in Han Dynasty,with the process of chinization and secularization.Buddhism tied with politics deepen, and gradually to succumb to secular politics and feudal ethics.The phenomenon of political participation of monks and nuns in the Jin Dynasties and Northern and Southern Dynasties was flourishing.This provided reference for the monks and nuns in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.The overview of the political participation of monks and nuns in the Sui and Tang Dynasties is the main part of this paper. This time can be roughly divided into five stages. Sui Dynasty was the transition period.The political participation of monks and nuns came into standard time in the Wude and Zhenguan years. The support of the female emperor,Wu Zetian,made the political status of Buddhism rising rapidly. After Wu Zhou and Wu Zhou Era, the political participation of monks and nuns came into the golden period. This caused many social problems, which made Xuanzong, after he ascended the throne, immediately take a series of measures to decline the political status of Buddhism.The political participation came into the limited period. This situation continued until the outbreak of the rebellion of An Lushan.After the rebellion,the political participation of monks and nuns came into the both ways period. Monks and nuns had exchanges among different political forces. But in the five dynasties, with the development of Buddhism, the political status of monks and nuns was declined.In generally speaking, monastic political status showed a tendency of downward in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.The third part of the paper selects Huichang years, which investigate transversely the relationship between the monks and the various political forces. The demolishment to the Buddhism in Huichang is an important thing in the history of Buddhism,during which caused a great impact on Buddhism. Faced the difficult,monks and nuns associated with the emperor, the literati, the eunuch, and the buffer region to seek safety, from which can be seen monks and nuns associating with various political forces in Sui and Tang Dynasties.The end of the paper reveals the essence of the political participation of monks and nuns and outlines the characteristics of the political participation in this period. Discussing the impact of the political participation of monks and nuns to the political, economic and cultural aspects in Sui and Tang Dynasties...