Xiangguosi Monastery: Living between the sacred and the profane in ancient China (Chinese text)

As one of the most significant monasteries in ancient China, born in 771 A.D. and expansively rebuilt for many times in successive dynasties, Xiangguosi Monastery played a significant and particular role in the imperial life of religion and society in ancient China, especially in the Tang and the Song periods. The research on it will prove helpful to rethink of the truth of “the Buddhist conquest of China” (in Erich Zurcher's term) and some characteristics of Chinese cults and beliefs. This thesis, based on the research methods of history and with extensive reference to the theories and methods of religious study, sociology, anthropology and postmodern cultural studies, is intended to carry out a systematic, comprehensive and profound study of Xiangguosi Monastery for the first time.; This thesis consists of ten chapters. Besides Chapter One (Introduction) and Chapter 10 (Discussions), the rest of the chapters provide an all-round and multi-perspective study of Xiangguosi Monastery in the Tang and the Song periods by tracing the history of its construction, rebuilding and maintenance through the following dynasties, its sculptures and murals, its hierophanies, the famous sanghas associated with it, its relationship with imperial politics and with the economic life of the capital, and its position in the secular society of culture and entertainment. Contrary to the general ideology, this study shows that Chinese monasteries were not at all a dead group of construction, but a living body with their own characteristics that displayed their liveliness between the sacred and the profane through successive hierophanies and multiple interactive powers. The space, the halls, the sculptures and murals, that were considered mere objects in traditional ideology, all possessed sacred meanings. Together with the sanghas and the rituals and activities that were held here, these aspects constituted the living body of the Monastery. Without any one of these aspects, the Monastery would no longer remain the same as it is now. In the second place, despite the fact that the religious aspect of the monasteries before the Sui and the Tang periods were outstanding, this study shows that the monasteries presented themselves more as a cultural and entertainment center after the Tang and the Song periods. This function was particularly significant in the Chinese social life before the cultural and entertainment center in the modern sense appeared. Thirdly, Buddhism went through a process of Sinonization that usually remained on the level of imitation and adaptation in the Han and the Tang dynasties; however, this study shows that Buddhism had merged itself completely in all aspects of the social life since the Tang and the Song periods. The monastery activities were integrated in the imperial lives of politics, economy and culture. In this situation, Buddhism could no longer be separated as a foreign religion.; The multiple characteristics that Xiangguosi Monastery took on under the coexistence and the interaction of the sacred, the profane, and the imperial forces offer a new perspective to study the Chinese religions and beliefs and some features of Chinese culture. Moreover, this thesis also provides a model for further research on Chinese monasteries.