From Barbaric Religion To State Religion

Buddhism is a great religion with cosmopolitan temperament.Since its birth,Buddhism has spread in all directions,and has been accepted by Asian countries and nationalities,forming the so-called northern Buddhism and southern Buddhism.Today,as a branch of northern Buddhism,Chinese Buddhism has the largest number of believers and the greatest influence among all Buddhist sects.This article is attempting to discuss the transformation of Chinese Buddhism in the Northern Wei Dynasty within the framework of the analysis of the Sinicization of Buddhism,aiming to enhance people's understanding of the early history of Buddhist communication.In the first chapter,by reviewing the development of early Buddhism in China,the author reveals the changes of ethnic composition and the transformation of discourse subject after Buddhism's entry into China.After the introduction of Buddhism into China,through centuries of dissemination and development,in the early Northern Wei Dynasty,it has changed from a religion with Hu people as the main body of belief to a religion with Han people as the main body of belief,and Chinese monks have initially grasped the discourse advantage.Therefore,in the early period of the Northern Wei Dynasty,we regarded Buddhism as a religion of barbarians,which was inconsistent with reality.Chapter two focuses on the identification of Buddhism in the anti-Buddhism movement in the early Northern Wei Dynasty,and analyses the internal reasons why Buddhism was crowned as Barbaric religion.Combining with the historical background at that time,we can find that as a political concept,Barbaric religion concept was deliberately constructed by Cui Hao Group.They want to use this name to eradicate Buddhism and open the way for realizing their political ideals.The third chapter mainly analyses the reasons why the Buddhism of the Northern Wei Dynasty turned to the state religion after the Taiwu extermination of Buddhism,and points out the homoousia between the state religion turn and the transformation of the state religion in China.In the Northern Wei Dynasty,Buddhism was able to embark on the path of national Enlightenment on the premise of its religious identity with Chinese characteristics.The acquisition of this premise depends on the transformation of Buddhism into China.Specifically,on the political level,different from the proud independence of early Buddhism,Buddhism chose the attitude of cooperation with the imperial power at that time,which was incorporated into the administrative system of the Northern Wei Dynasty and played a certain ideological function.On the economic level,Buddhism changed the original doctrine of primitive Buddhism,accumulated huge monasteries,and laid a solid economic foundation for its status as a national religion.On the social level,Buddhism has changed its aristocratic attributes through more than a hundred years of communication efforts and communication strategies for the secular society,thus establishing a solid foundation of belief among the people.All these have become the important foundations for the establishment of the status of Buddhism as a national religion.The fourth chapter focuses on the influence of Chinese Buddhism on the society of the Northern Wei Dynasty.In terms of ethnic relations,Sinicized Buddhism provided a religious field for all ethnic groups in the Northern Wei Dynasty to surpass their original ethnic identity and help them establish new identity therein,thus to promote ethnic integration in the Northern Wei Dynasty.In politics,Buddhism played a role in helping the Northern Wei Emperor get rid of the traditional constraints of Nepal,which greatly accelerated the process of the Cathaysization of the Northern Wei regime.But at the same time,the strengthening of the imperial power of the Northern Wei Dynasty,with its harsh autocratic mechanism,enslaved more people.In terms of economy,Buddhist monasteries returned to the poor in the social and economic cycle,developed the welfare undertakings in ancient China,and played a certain role in making up for the social welfare system that was deficient in the Northern Wei Dynasty.Moreover,the monastery economy can ensure the normal operation of the finance in the Northern Wei Dynasty at a critical moment.However,the monastery economy,which is based on the fragile economy,has also brought serious social disasters to the poor.With the corruption of the upper-class monk groups,the severity of this social disaster is even worse.In terms of social governance,Buddhism eased the sharp social contradictions in the Northern Wei Dynasty,constructed a new social order,and along the main line of historical changes in the Han and Tang Dynasties,promoted the process of social nationalization.On the other hand,the trend towards folk Buddhism has impacted the old power structure and changed the traditional structure of the country in Chinese society.Its doctrine is often used as a theoretical footnote for extreme violence.