Study Of The Song Dynasty, Hangzhou Temple

During the Song Dynasty, the institutions of SengGuan, DuDie, and Chi'e improved day by day. Buddhism was completely under the control of the secular regime and demonstrated the characteristics of secularization and the common people. The Song Dynasty is an important period of Chinese Buddhism's transition. The study of Song Buddhism has gained increasing attention from scholars in recent years and has made great progress. However, there has not been much research done on the Buddhist temples themselves. As the main carrier of the development of Buddhism, the Buddhist temple is an important place, not only because it serves as the Monks' home, but also because it functions as a forum for interactions between different social groups. Therefore, its process of construction and development is closely related to social reality. Using the Buddhist temple to explore the relationship between society and Buddhism is undoubtedly a new approach to studying the religion's evolution.By focusing on the Buddhist temples of Hangzhou during the Song Dynasty and the historical background of its development and social condition, this paper analyzes the temples'distribution, construction and destruction; building facilities and layout; the strength of construction; and the relationship between social class and Buddhist temples. Based on the traditional historiography research methods, and focusing on screening the historical materials, the paper emphasizes the historical process and the reasoning behind the growth and development of Buddhist temples in Hangzhou. Based on this theory, and the combination of sociology and religion, I come to a conclusion based on empirical study. I don't plan to "reconstruct history as the real one occurred in the past", but I still make every effort to "search for the historical view from the historical evidence". I hope that this study will provide new answers to a great many questions, such as the relationships between the nation and society, policy and reality, as well as common customs and religion in ancient Chinese society.First, from the perspectives of the historical period and geographical space, I will analyze the overall historical background and policy environment of the Buddhist temples of Hangzhou during the Song Dynasty. I intend to explain the fact that Hangzhou became the center of Buddhism in the Southern Song Dynasty and not only due to one individual factor. Instead, it is a result of the interaction of many factors, such as political environment, Buddhist policies, cultural tradition, and various socio-economic factors. Secondly, in addition to the discussion of the aforementioned factors, I will also study the temples'construction and destruction and the reasons behind the geographical distribution of Hangzhou's Buddhist temples throughout the Southern Song Dynasty. I try to explain that there are various factors, such as natural geography, social development and people's mental demands, that significantly impact the temple's existence and development. Thirdly, I try to show the relationship between the architectural layout of the temples and the temporal characteristics of the development of Buddhism. I also discuss the Monks'leading role in building the temples through the analysis of the internal facilities and the layout of the monastery buildings of the temples in Hangzhou. Finally, I study the interactions between the Buddhists in Hangzhou's temples and the various social classes of the Song Dynasty, as well as discuss the differences between the Song imperial family and bureaucracy with the Buddhists of Hangzhou's temples.The investigation and analysis listed above demonstrate that the period when Hangzhou was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty and Wu Yue is the time when the construction of the temples occurred the fastest, and that thesis closely related with the Buddhism Centre's eventual establishment in Hangzhou. During the Song Dynasty, the central Buddhist policies changed little, while the method of construction of Hangzhou's temples changed greatly. This illustrates that political power is the key factor in the development of Buddhism and the construction of its temples. Monks are the leading force in the building of the temples, and as a result, their personal qualities and performance impact the rise and fall of the temples. Upon examining the building facilities and the layout changes of Hangzhou's temples during the Song Dynasty as well as the interaction between different social classes and the Buddhists at the temples, you can see that temples have become less independent over time. As a result, a Buddhist temple with both Chinese and secular characteristics has formed, producing far-reaching effects.