Research On Disputes Over Properties Of Temples In The Period Of Republic Of China

In recent years,deputes over properties of temples have been gaining attention from scholars in the field of history and religious community.In the period of the Republic of China,deputies were prevalent in Hubei province,but relevant researches on it are weak.Based on archives and literature,and combining local chronicles and other historical materials,this paper mainly adopts interdisciplinary research methods combining history,religion and law,attempts to present then complicated circumstances on the disputes over the properties of temples in Hubei Province during the period of the Republic of China,and examines the implementation of the religious management policies in Hubei Province during the Republic of China,showing the interactive pictures among religions,countries and local society in modern China.After the establishment of the Republic of China,the government of Beijing and Nanjing successively issued dozens of administration policies over Buddhism and Taoism.From the surface,the government of the Republic of China protected the properties of temples by issuing policies and regulations throughout the country,which inevitably greatly eased the disputes over properties of local temples.However,the actual situation run counter to the original intention of legislators.With the continuous publication and revision of these decrees,the public opinions,especially the voices of doubts and opposition from the Buddhists and Taoist priests,had been stronger after waves of waves.The confliction over properties of temples all over the country didn’t disappear.On the contrary,it became increasingly fierce,even out of control.The disputes over properties of temples in Hubei province during the Republic of China happened in such a historical context.Due to the facts that there were numerous temples in Hubei province,traditional religions were on the decline but Buddhism and Taoism developed in Hubei province,the disputes in the then Hubei province was fierce.Notably,the disputes mainly concentrated on Buddhism,but in Hubei,the disputes also involved Taoism because of the numerous cultural resources on Taoism in Hubei province.Therefore,the disputes over properties of temples during that historical period not only shared common features but also contains regional characters,which are as follows:This article emphasizes empirical study,and insists on telling the truth.The main part of it presents different kinds of disputes over properties of temples in Hubei province in the period of the Republic of China.Firstly,the disputes over temples aroused in the background of the implementation of compulsory education in Hubei Province.In 1935,the Ministry of Education issued The outline of the Interim Measures for the Implement of Compulsory Education.After that,Hubei Province constituted The Outlines of Implement of Caesaropapism and Popularization of Education.As for the educational funds,the outline regulated,"the governor of each district should investigate the temples’assets,expending four out of ten of the funds for sacrifice and six out of ten for supplement for the expansion of religion and education.And abbots are responsible for the transactions.”Right after the implementation,numerous disputes over properties of temples aroused in Hubei Province.From 1936 to 1938,the amount of cases about conflictions of temple properties was more than 20.It was not until Hubei Province became the battlefront of the Anti-Japanese War,had the cases decreased.Secondly,expending properties of temples on education in Hubei province aroused disputes in the background of implementing national education.In 1940,the Ministry of Education decided to put national education into efforts to match up the implementation of New County System.Hubei Province also instituted a series of laws,which included Outlines of implementation of National Education in Hubei Province.In order to solve the problems of funds for national education,the Ministry of Education once promulgated Approaches to raise money for funds of civil school and civil school in center of villages and towns,which regulated "the money for funds of civil schools should be raised by governors of the district" and "Persuade the local temples to donate money for the funds".Besides,it set up different standards for different kinds of the temples.And during the period from 1941 to 1943,the disputes over properties of temples in Hubei province broke out again and again.Thirdly,the confiscation of temples’ properties under the condition of putting public property into order.Apart from initiating education,the disputes also had something to do with the policies of cleaning up public property.Dating back to the first reign year of the Republic of China,Hubei Province had already established the Public Property Cleaning Office in Hankou and Wuchang.On June in 1928,it was changed into Public Property Arrangement Office,but was changed back into Public Property Cleaning Office again in 1932.After the establishment,the local governments all over the Hubei Province set about to taking actions.Some properties of temples were taken as public properties and led to numerous disputes.Fourth,withdrawing temples’ properties out of charity.During the Republic of China,the central government issued several legal documents like Supervision of Ordinance and they regulated that temples were obliged to engage in charity by expending its property.However,this regulation was often outrun law scope when the local government carried out it,and properties of temples became public property which could be withdrawn at ease.In Wuhan and Xiangyang,quarrels often aroused due to the act of forcibly occupying properties of temples out of charity.Fifth,disputes over properties of temples with other natures.In Republic of China,reasons for disputes over properties of temple were mentioned above.Additionally,disputes with other natures happened now and then,such as disputes over the heirship of temples,disputes over the positions of abbots and so on.The Republic of China government made great efforts to realize the legalization of religious management,and the religious management laws and regulations were effectively implemented during the Republic of China,which protected the legitimate rights and interests of temples to a certain extent.However,due to the urgency of developing education,building social public utilities,and the shortage of state finances,these religious regulations formulated during the Republic of China not only proclaimed the protection of temple production,but also forced temples to use temple production for public welfare undertakings.These two regulations constituted the tension of the religious management in the Republic of China but also were the legal source of the continuous outbreak of disputes in temples across the country.The emergence of this phenomenon had both specific social causes and the incompleteness of religious policies and regulations at that time,and reflects the complexity of religious issues.It should also be noted that in addition to disputes,Buddhists and Taoists actively took out the temple production to run schools,which made important contributions to the popularization of modern education in China.Later generations should show this out and affirm it.The disputes over properties of temples in Hubei province during the Republic of China reflected the actual situations of religions in China during that period.It was a reflection of the adjustment between tradition and modernity,country and society during the modernization process since Qing Dynasty.Issues arousing during that period,such as how to play the leading role of government in regulating religions,how religions circles safeguard benefits based on laws,how Buddhists and Taoists better cultivate themselves and regular ethos,are still worth reflecting.