Centre for Modern East Asian Studies - Cemeas

Lecture: Self-Affirmation and Self-Discovery: Mutual Understandings between Chinese and Japanese Buddhism and the Construction of East Asian Buddhist Identities in Modern Era

02. July (16-18, KWZ 0.607)

The lecture will take place in a hybrid format and here is the zoom link (both lectures will use the same link): https://uni-goettingen.zoom-x.de/j/68015883500?pwd=sBRwN4M79JgwpsCTbrKKFpwsaNyiMh.1

Abstract

In the modern period, unprecedented contact and exchange unfolded between Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. From the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the Second World War, monks, scholars, and diplomats from both countries continuously observed, commented on, and studied each other’s Buddhist traditions, leaving behind a rich corpus of valuable records. From the Japanese monk Ogurisu Kōchō’s investigative journey to China, to Huang Zunxian’s Record of Japan (Riben Guozhi); from the intellectual exchanges between Yang Wenhui and Nanjō Bun'yū, to the mutual visits of Taixu, Daxing, and D. T. Suzuki, a history of Buddhist dialogue spanning nearly a century gradually took shape.

This lecture examines these figures and events in order to explore how modern Chinese and Japanese Buddhism redefined themselves through the process of “knowing the Other.” Japanese Buddhism, by reinterpreting the Chinese Buddhist tradition, gradually constructed its self-identity as the representative of East Asian Mahāyāna Buddhism. Chinese Buddhism, in turn, by observing the modernization of Japanese Buddhism, rediscovered its own historical traditions and cultural value, while also reflecting on paths of Buddhist reform and revival.

This history is not only one of Sino-Japanese Buddhist exchange, but also an intellectual history in which the self is discovered through the Other. The processes of “self-affirmation” and “self-discovery” thus constitute one of the most important historical questions in the formation of modern East Asian Buddhist identities.

The Formation of Chinese Buddhist Sectarianism: Centering on the Concepts of Zong and Jiao
中國佛教宗派認識的形成史——以「宗」與「教」概念為中心

Lecture on 01. July (16-18, KWZ 1.601)

The lecture will take place in a hybrid format and here is the zoom link (both lectures will use the same link): https://uni-goettingen.zoom-x.de/j/68015883500?pwd=sBRwN4M79JgwpsCTbrKKFpwsaNyiMh.1

Abstract

Today, Chinese Buddhism is often described through sectarian categories such as Tiantai, Huayan, Faxiang, and Pure Land. However, this “school-based” (zong 宗) framework was not always dominant. It developed gradually over time.

Drawing on texts such as the Shimen Zhengtong, Fozu Tongji, Shijiao Sanzijing, Bazong Erxing, and Shizong Lüeshuo, this lecture traces how the concepts of zong (school/lineage) and jiao (teaching) evolved in Chinese Buddhist history. It shows that from the Song and Yuan periods onward, jiao was more commonly used to classify Buddhist teachings, while zong only became the primary category from the late Ming and early Qing periods. The lecture highlights the modernization of Buddhist sectarian thinking in the late Qing and early Republican eras, when scholars and reformers such as Hesheli Rushan, Yang Wenhui, Liang Qichao, and Taixu proposed influential models of “Eight,” “Ten,” “Thirteen,” and “Eight Mahāyāna” schools. It further considers the role of Japanese Buddhist scholarship in shaping these modern classifications.

This lecture argues that the familiar system of “schools” in Chinese Buddhism is not an ancient, continuous tradition, but a modern construct formed through intellectual exchange and historical reorganization.

今日人們談論中國佛教時，往往習慣使用天台宗、華嚴宗、法相宗、淨土宗等「宗派」概念。然而，這種以「宗」為核心的理解方式並非自古如此，而是在漫長的歷史發展中逐步形成的。

本講座以《釋門正統》《佛祖統紀》《釋教三字經》《八宗二行》《十宗略說》等重要文獻為線索，考察「宗」與「教」兩個概念在中國佛教史上的演變過程。研究發現，宋元以來中國佛教多以「教」來描述不同法門；直到明末清初，「宗」才逐漸成為統攝各佛教流派的核心概念。尤其在清末近代化進程中，赫舍里如山提出「八宗說」，楊文會建立「十宗說」，梁啟超提出「十三宗說」，太虛大師高倡「大乘八宗」，共同塑造了近代中國佛教的宗派認識。

講座進一步探討日本佛教知識傳入中國後所產生的影響，指出近代中國佛教宗派體系並非傳統的自然延續，而是在中日佛教知識交流與中國佛教自我重構的歷史過程中逐漸形成的知識體系。我們今天所熟悉的『中國佛教十宗』，究竟是古已有之的傳統，還是近代重新建構的歷史產物？本講座將從『宗』與『教』兩個概念的演變出發，重新審視中國佛教宗派觀形成的歷史。

Short Bio

Chen Jidong holds a B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy from Peking University and a Ph.D. in Bud

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