Research On Buddhist Temple Culture And Poetry In Song Dynasty

The rulers in the Song Dynasty advocated the Neo-Confucianism.Although imposing dual measures of support and suppression on Buddhism,the rulers did not absolutely suppress the development of Buddhism.In such a way,Buddhism gradually reversed the declining condition in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties,thus achieved a stable and healthy development for a long period of time.There are lots of Buddhist temples in the Song Dynasty,which are not only the practice places of the monks and nuns,but also the ideal places for the literati to visit.In the Song Dynasty,the literati were interested in talking about Buddhism and Zen,visiting the Buddhist temples,and interacting with the monks,hence created a large number of poems related to the Buddhist temples.Some of these poems recorded the literati activities in the Buddhist temples,and some showed deep affection of poets towards the Buddhist temples,which reflected the magnificent Buddhist culture.Divided into four aspects,this thesis overall investigates the relationship between the literati and the Buddhist temples in the Song Dynasty,and reveals the characteristics that the poems depicted the Buddhist temples in the Song Dynasty:The first chapter briefly explains the rational Buddhist policies in the Song Dynasty and expounds the important cultural significances of the Buddhist temples.Based on the surrounding environment,artistic environment and Buddhist environment of the Buddhist temple,this thesis explores the important influences of the Buddhist cultures on the poets.The second chapter focuses on the subjective interests of poets in the Song Dynasty on Buddhist temples,based on the texts of poetry.First of all,with the relatively open attitude,the Buddhist temple gardens attracted the literati to tour,meditate,create poems,and see friends off.Next,the Buddhist temple gardens have natural effects,moreover,Buddhism gave the word "cool" the Buddhist meaning of "nirvana,peace",therefore,the Buddhist temples became ideal summer places for the literati.In addition,most of the monks in the Song Dynasty studied Zen.And the poets often talked with them about Zen in the temples,writing lots of poems with their understandings about Zen.Some poems also depicted vivid monk characteristics,such as hospitality and indifference.The third chapter pays special attention to the depictions of the Buddhist temples in the poems of the Song Dynasty.The Buddhist temples have three forms of existence,——the magnificent,splendor temples built by government,the little quiet,peaceful temples in countries and mountains,and the silent,decaying,ancient temples.Accordingly,the poets' depictions on these three different Buddhist temples are divided into three poetic styles,which are spectacular,peaceful and desolate.The flowers and trees in the temples were the objects portrayed by the poets as well.The famous pear flowers,for instance,in Pear Flowers Temple has attracted many literati and the poets even held several parties for the flowers,which is very representative.The ancient trees in the temples,with their unique appearances and astonishing vitality,often won the poets' appreciation and carried the poets' deep thoughts.The fourth chapter takes Zhang Lei in the Northern Song Dynasty and Chen Zhu in between the late Song Dynasty and the early Yuan Dynasty as cases,to study their feelings towards the Buddhist temples and the themes of their poems.Zhang's official career was not successful.He has been in Buddhist temples many times throughout his life.Because of his different moods,Zhang's poems showed two different feelings: relaxation and depression.Chen was in the era between the Song and Yuan Dynasties.He did not intend to serve for the new government,but chose seclusion,associating with the monks.His poems often showed an optimistic,unrestrained style.