Regarding the nature of the debate over veneration by the Buddhist monastic to the emperor in the Eastern Jin China, previous researches have tended to focus on the intellectual history aspect and put forward teleological arguments. As a result, they have overlooked the social historical background of the debate and hence ignored the agency of individuals. Moreover, there has been confusion regarding the primary texts in which the debate is found – many scholars have not distinguished between Huiyuan’s Letter About Why Buddhist Monastic Should Not Bow to the Emperor: A Response to Huanxuan and his Thesis on Why a Buddhist Monastic Should Not Bow to the Emperor. Such confusion has further created misunderstanding about the real nature of the debate.
Aiming to correct those problems, this article re-examines chronologically the individuals, events, and historical documents relevant to the debate. I hope this study will provide a more complete historical picture of the debate.
Keywords:
Debate over Buddhist Monastic Bowing to the Emperor; Yubing; Huanxuan; Lushan Huiyuan; Letter about why Buddhist Monastic Should Not Bow to the Emperor: A Response to Huanxuan; Thesis on why a Buddhist Monastic Should Not Bow to the Emperor