Study On The Buddhism Of Hexi Area During The Period Of The Republic Of China

The Hexi area is located in an important position of the Silk Road,through which Chinese Buddhism was introduced into China,so it has a long history of Buddhism belief and occupies a pivotal position in the history of Chinese Buddhism.Tibetan Buddhism rose in the Hexi area when Tibetan regime dominated here in the Tang dynasty,and this religion has been further developed during Yuan,Ming and Qing dynasty,so Buddhism belief here belongs to the system of coexistence of the Esoteric or Exoteric sect.With the falling of the status of the Silk Road,Chinese Buddhism began to decline in this area,but Tibetan Buddhism has maintained steady development because of the universal faith in Mongolian and Tibetan and other ethnic groups.However,as a whole,the Hexi Buddhism shows a tendency of decline.Especially during the period of the Republic of China,such situation becomes more serious under the background of the declining of national Buddhism,such as the deterioration of the temple environment,the decrease in the number of the temple,the reduction of the number and quality of Sangha,and the negative impact on Buddhism caused by the feudal secret societies.From the records of Hexi local chronicles written during the late Qing Dynasty,the Republican period and after the founding of the PRC,it can be seen that the materials about the Hexi temples have the same strain relations and the decline of the Hexi Buddhism has an effect on the temples.Xin dao,a famous monk,who had a powerful influence on Buddhism of the northwest region and made an important contribution to the integration,innovation and development of Buddhism in the Hexi area,preached his religion and widely collected disciples and set up the Buddhist association and lodge including the Fachuang Sect in the Hexi area.As very important indigenous minorities,Mongolian,Tibetan and other ethnic groups in the Hexi area have Tibetan Buddhism as their wholly traditional religion.By the time of Ming and Qing Dynasty,in order to maintain stability in border areas,the central government appointed many minority chieftains who actively promoted Tibetan Buddhism within their control and ruled their own jurisdictions by mastering the local political and religious power,and the family of chieftain Lu in Yong deng county of Gan su Province is one of the most representative ones.During the period of the Republic of China,the central government gradually weakens the administrative power of these chieftains by changing the clan hereditary into the central appointment and perfecting the construction of grass-roots power,and these measures had a significant impact on Tibetan Buddhism under the rule of the chieftain family.Meanwhile,Buddhism faces serious challenges,so Buddhists believe Buddhism must make a change in which Buddhism takes the road of secularization from renouncing the world to going into the society.Only in this way can Buddhism go on surviving and developing.Based on this background,the Hexi Buddhism begins to pay attention to the problem of secularization in the reform and development and to participate in social construction,such as plunging into the anti-Japanese activities,offering donations of money and materials and engaging in social welfare.These initiatives change the Buddhists' inward-looking negative impressions in the eyes of the public.In the period of the Republic of China,the Hexi Buddhism has declined and it would be difficult to reproduce its past glory,but it still develops in such an environment and lays the foundation for the later modern Buddhism.