4. Buddhism in the South-eastern China
(From the Eastern Chin till Sui Dynasty)

4.1. The Eastern Chin Dynasty (317-618): Gentry Buddhism in Chien-Kang (Nanjing):

4.1.1. New question after Chinese lost the control in the central China: whether the traditional ideology was sufficient?

4.1.2.Gentry Buddhism: Buddhism of upper class.

4.1.3. A mixture of Daoist and Buddhist ideas:

4.1.3.1. Prajna school: a Buddhist school which emphasizes intuitive insight and wisdom. Their theory inclined toward Mahayana in spirit. It was more interested in probing into the nature of Buddha and the ultimate reality behind the external appearance of things.

4.1.3.2. The unconditioned dharmas (nirvana) were considered to be permanent, but the conditioned dharmas were conceived to be impermanent.

4.1.3.3. The principal teaching of Prajna sutras was that the nature of the Dharma was sunya (emptiness)

4.1.3.4. No dualism

4.1.4. Neo-Daoism and Buddhism:

4.1.4.1. Common ideas between the two: The Buddhists held that all things were by nature empty or void while the Neo-Daosim maintained that the myrial things had their origin in nonbeing.

4.1.4.2. Discourse between Neo-Daosim and Buddhism:

The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove:

Discussion on Penti: Penti means the original nature of human being. The later is in fact nonbeing.

4.1.4.3. The Neo-Daoists and Buddhists both were interested in the problem of ontology (pen-ti).

1.1.2.3. Monks and Chinese society:

            Wang’s family and Xie’s family

Chih Tun: A Buddhist monk who best represented the conjunction of Prajna and Neo-Daoist.

Ke-yi: A method of translating Buddhist texts by matching meaning. The idea of Lao Zi (Lao Tzu) and Zhuang Zi (Chuang Tzu) were considered closely akin to the Prajna doctrines.

His Chao (336-377)’s Feng-fa-yao

4.1.4. A mixture of Confucian and Buddhist ideas:

4.1.4.1 Sun Cho (ca 300-380)’s work: Yu-Dao-Lun, an attempt to reconcile Buddhism with social virtues of Confucianism.

4.1.5. A mixture of Daoist and Buddhist art: to show the true nature of reality—still and quiet in the moving and changing world

4.1.5. Eminent monks under the Eastern Chin.

Tao-an, Tao-sheng,

4.2. Progress and opposition: Southern Dynasties:

Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty: