Economic Activities of a Chinese Temple in California

THE ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES of churches have interested historians and sociologists for a long time. A large body of data from Europe and the United States have been analyzed, and the main outlines of the interplay between economy and church have been established. Our knowledge about corresponding relationships in non-Western societies is still scanty, generally speaking. Several authors have spoken of the tremendous economic power of the Buddhist church in China and of attempts of the state to limit and to control the church, but at a closer look we must admit that relevant information is very insufficient also for China. Only in certain periods and in certain sectors can we speak of a Buddhist We know very well that many monasteries and many more temples were independent, i. e., not organized to form what we could call a church. Yet, these temples needed an income. Where did they get it from? What did they spend it for? Were the activities of thousands of such temples important within the framework of national economy ? There are some data 1 indicating that during the Republican period temples gave money to educational institutions or even created and financed schools inside the temple; but it seems that spending for educational institutions was a recent trait and perhaps not even a general one. Occasionally one hears that, still recently, temples controlled land and had income from the rent paid by their tenants; usually only in vague terms can one obtain information on the amount of land controlled by a single temple. Chinese temples kept detailed account books, but evidently few scholars have been interested in this material. Also, temple guardians are extremely sensitive, according to my observations, and they do not like to show the books, often denying their very existence. Thus, little is known about temple finances. Recently, we had the good luck to get access to one set of such temple account books: the books

Ancient history · Art · Temple · American Constitutional Law and Politics · History · Religion and Society Interactions

• Red Turbans in the Trinity Alps

  Open Access•Robert G Lee•Journal of Transnational American…•2017

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