Buddhism in Chinese Society
An Economic History from the Fifth to the Tenth Centuries
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2898728 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel L Overmyer (University of British Columbia, corresponding author), Jacques Gernet, Franciscus Verellen |
| Year | 1995 |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 596 |
| Publication date | 1995-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Pacific Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0030-851X • E-ISSN: 1715-3379 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2761291 |
| OpenAlex | W2041850604 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 69 |
This seminal study of the religious and economic history of Buddhism by the premier French sinologue has for decades been considered an unsurpassed classic. Here, for the first time, it is available to English-language readers in an updated edition. The fifth through tenth centuries were the period of the greatest expansion of the Buddhist Church in China. Monastic estates controlled a sizeable share of the economy, owning a considerable amount of land and agricultural and manufacturing enterprises. Gernet examines the religious and economic aspects of the society dominated by this power, and explores the Church's effect on Chinese thought and culture. A much broader historical overview than many works that discuss the economic intricacies of Buddhism in China, Buddhism in Chinese Society interweaves an understanding of social and political organization, Buddhist religious philosophy and doctrine, legal tenets, customs of the day, and many other significant layers of Chinese culture. Drawing largely upon primary sources - from the work of official Chinese historians to the writings of Buddhist monks - Gernet demonstrates the far-reaching influence of Buddhism on the economic development of China during a time when the religion was growing at an unprecedented rate among all levels of society. Buddhism in Chinese Society looks at state and imperial policy but also delves into the lives of villagers far away from the major centers of religious and economic power. Translated and revised by respected scholar of Chinese religions Franciscus Verellen, who has worked closely with Gernet, this edition includes new references, an extensive, up-to-date bibliography, and a comprehensive index
Ancient history · Archaeology · Buddhism · China · Chinese society · Economic history · Political science · Chinese history and philosophy · History
Chinese Buddhist Narratives in Light of Indian Sources
Building and Rebuilding Buddhist Monasteries in Tang China
Maritime Southeast Asia Between South Asia and China to the Sixteenth Century
Histories of religious fundraising
Response section
Bibliography of Western Works on Early Medieval China (1994-96)
Hemispheric Integration, 500-1500 C.E
Self-immolation, Resistance and Millenarianism in Medieval Chinese Buddhism
Monks for Hire
Fields of Merit, Harvests of Health
The Vinaya and The Dharmaśāstra
Miscellaneous Musings on Mūlasarvāstivāda Monks
Alerting the Masses
Buddhism Revamped for Socialism
Japanese Temple Buddhism
Gift and market in the Chinese religious economy
Archaeologies of Buddhist propagation in ancient India
Deregulation and The Religious Market in Taiwan
Entre désécularisation et resacralisation
The economic power of women in early South Asian Buddhism
The Rise of Protestantism in Post-Mao China
China in Germany
The Heavenly Court
The Relations between China and the Steppe
Institutions and Environment in Ancient Southern East Asia (3000 BCE to 300 CE)
The Circulation of Astrological Lore and Its Political Use Between the Roman East, Sasanian Iran, Central Asia, India, and the Türks
Infrastructures of Legitimacy in Inner Asia
Aspects of Elite Representation among the Sixth- and Seventh-Century Türks
The Reigns of Jen-tsung (1022–1063) and Ying-tsung (1063–1067)
Central Asia in the Late Roman Mental Map, Second to Sixth Centuries
The spread of Buddhism
Che-tsung’s Reign (1085–1100) and the Age of Faction
Buddhism, Alcohol, and Tea in Medieval China
“A Flock of Ghosts Bursting Forth and Scattering”
Buddhism in Chinese History
The Reigns of Kuang-tsung (1189–1194) and Ning-tsung (1194–1224)
The Hearth and the Temple
Land, Lineage and the Laity
The Southern Kingdoms between the T’ang and the Sung, 907–979
Shen-tsung’s Reign and the New Policies of Wang An-shih, 1067–1085
The Reigns of Hui-tsung (1100–1126) and Ch’in-tsung (1126–1127) and the Fall of the Northern Sung
The Five Dynasties
Founding and Consolidation of the Sung Dynasty under T’ai-tsu (960–976), T’ai-tsung (976–997), and Chen-tsung (997–1022)
The Move to the South and the Reign of Kao-tsung (1127–1162)
Counting the Monks
Merit, Karma, and Exchange
The Economics of Salvation
Commoditization of the sacred
Abstinence halls ( zhaitang 齋堂 ) in lay households in early medieval China
Taking Welch and The Practice of Chinese Buddhism into the 21st century
Giving while keeping
Religion as a Binding Force in Urban Society
Performing Yuánfèn
The Simultaneity of Compliance and Resistance (既顺从又抗爭
The Hyakumantō Darani and the Origins of Printing in Eighth-Century Japan
Case Studies in Efficacy
Three Buddhist Texts from Dunhuang
A History for Falun Gong
Crossing and Questioning Boundaries
Donors of Longmen
How Zen Became Zen
Toward a Global History of Buddhism and Medicine
On the market
The Demise of Silk on the Silk Road
Another Look at China, Money, Silver, and the Seventeenth-Century Crisis
Integrating Faith and Profit
Islamic Coins” from a Hindu Temple
The Politics of a Reviving Buddhist Temple
The making of a fiscal state inSongChina, 960-1279
| Unique citing works | 69 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,38 |
| Citation span | 1997 - 2025 (29) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 48 |