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Bezig met laden... The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture (2003)door John Kieschnick
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From the first century, when Buddhism entered China, the foreign religion shaped Chinese philosophy, beliefs, and ritual. At the same time, Buddhism had a profound effect on the material world of the Chinese. This wide-ranging study shows that Buddhism brought with it a vast array of objects big and small--relics treasured as parts of the body of the Buddha, prayer beads, and monastic clothing--as well as new ideas about what objects could do and how they should be treated. Kieschnick argues that even some everyday objects not ordinarily associated with Buddhism--bridges, tea, and the chair--on closer inspection turn out to have been intimately tied to Buddhist ideas and practices. Long after Buddhism ceased to be a major force in India, it continued to influence the development of material culture in China, as it does to the present day. At first glance, this seems surprising. Many Buddhist scriptures and thinkers rejected the material world or even denied its existence with great enthusiasm and sophistication. Others, however, from Buddhist philosophers to ordinary devotees, embraced objects as a means of expressing religious sentiments and doctrines. What was a sad sign of compromise and decline for some was seen as strength and versatility by others. Yielding rich insights through its innovative analysis of particular types of objects, this briskly written book is the first to systematically examine the ambivalent relationship, in the Chinese context, between Buddhism and material culture. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)294.30951Religions Other Religions Religions of Indic origin Buddhism Buddhism - general Biography and Buddhism by place Asia ChinaLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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In addition to the meticulous research and well-balanced, rationale approach to the subjects selected, were several insights into the spread of Buddhism in China that I don't remember from earlier classic tomes such as [b:The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China|350938|The Buddhist Conquest of China The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China|Erik Zürcher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348444398s/350938.jpg|341183] and Kenneth Chen's Chinese Transformation of Buddhism--for example, the idea that it was the 'cultural humility' of Chinese monks that permitted the entry of foreign influences into medieval China (as opposed to the Chinese literati who lived in a carefully defined closed society). As Kieschnick writes, "If in medieval Europe the court was a 'nursery for good manners,' in medieval China the monastery was a nursery for new forms of material culture." (p. 279) If you've read Zurcher and Chen, this book should be next on your reading list.
This is a wonderful and fascinating book that should be read by anyone interested in Chinese history and culture, even if one's knowledge of Buddhism is slight. There should be more studies of this sort--ones that focus on the evidence of material culture and then balance it vis-a-vis the theoretical or scriptural. In other words, actions speak louder than words. What a pleasure this work turned out to be! And for the reader who asked 'So what?' at the end of his review…some of us just find the pleasure of truly understanding the 'how's and 'why's of a phenomenon or practice absolutely fascinating. ( )