Ennin Into The Tang Method And Its Impact On Japanese Culture

Japanese Buddhist monks, the carrier of Chinese Buddhism to Japan, have played a vital role in promoting Sino-Japanese Buddhism communication and enriching Japanese culture. A representative in the history of Sino-Japanese Buddhism communication. Ennin is known as "Japanese Yuanchwang". Firstly, as a character linking the preceding and the following, he did a great deal in disseminating the Buddhist culture in Japan after his 9 years and 2 months'visit and study in Tang Dynasty in China. Secondly, he contributed greatly to the development of Japanese Buddhism by perfecting Japanese Tian-tai school. Thirdly, what he has done exerts great influences on Japanese culture ranging from literature and arts to folklore and faiths. Finally, he left a heritage, RU TANG QIU FA XUN LI XING JI (Records on Study and Visit in Tang Dynasty), valuable both in history and literature.By analyzing the activities of Ennin in Tang Dynasty and his influences on Japanese culture, the thesis combs out the contributions of Ennin to the propagation of Tang culture in Japan, and attempts to objectively locate his position in Sino-Japanese cultural communication. The discussion falls into the following parts:A literature review is made in the introduction and the practical significances of this research is shown.The historical background of Ennin's visit in Tang is discussed in the first Chapter. Taking the social and political conditions of Tang Dynasty and the East Asian International environment into consideration, true purposes of Ennin's visit to China are analyzed.The second chapter enunciates the activities of Ennin in Tang from three aspects: his studies on Buddhism, the approaches to Buddhist canons, and the Buddhist scriptures he brought back to Japan.The third chapter inquires into the social interaction of Ennin in Tang Dynasty, quantitively analyzing the attitudes of Tang people of different social status towards him, and revealing their influences on the development of Ennin's character.Chapter four reveals the influences of Ennin on Japanese Buddhism, with focuses on Tian-tai school, and the faith in Avalokitesvara and Manjusri, etc. Apart from showing Ennin's contributions to the development and perfection of Tian-tai school, and his relationship with Japanese faith in Manjusri, the influences of Avalokitesvara faith on him is also discussed in this part to solve some problems left in academic field.The next four chapters from five to eight make comprehensive surveys on the influences of Ennin on Japanese language, literature, music, arts and folk faiths in Heian Period, and give him an accurate and fair assessment.The ninth chapter makes a discussion and summary of the characteristics of Sino-Japanese civilization communication in Tang Dynasty, and shows that with the lasting glory of his spirit in pursuing Buddhist truth, Ennin is of great importance in linking the preceding with the following.Objectively speaking, there has been a rich literature available, especially in Japanese academic field, and it is hard to search for new research points. This thesis is justified in deepening the studies on Ennin, and in providing some fresh perspectives to academic researches both domestic and abroad.