Ouyang Xiu Of The Buddhist Relationship

Ouyang Xiu was a prominent Chinese statesman, historian, essayist and poet of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). As the leader of the literary reform movement in the Northern Song dynasty, Ouyang advocated the"Ancient Style Prose", a simpler, more direct prose, which was pioneered by Han Yu, the great master of Tang dynasty (618-907) literature, to replace the mannered and excessively rhythmic style then popular. Like Han Yu, Ouyang was firmly opposed to Buddhism. However, the prevalence of Buddhism in the Northern Song dynasty exerted a subtle influence on him. According to related historical materials and his writings, Ouyang was on good terms with several Buddhist monks and visited temples a lot throughout his life. The thesis contains three chapters to explore the relations between Ouyang Xiu and Buddhism.The first chapter mainly discusses Ouyang Xiu's opposite thought of Buddhism. In the first part, the author talks about Ouyang's continuation and development of Hanyu's opposition to Buddhism. In the second part, the author focuses on Ouyang's recognition of the litterateur Shi Jie's refutal of Buddhism and the differences between their methods to go against Buddhism. In the third part, the author points out the progress and defect of Ouyang's opposite thought of Buddhism through an analysis of his writings.The second chapter emphasizes on Ouyang Xiu's relationship with Buddhist monks and his attitude towards them. First, the author enumarates the monks who were recorded in Buddhist books to have contacts with Ouyang. Second, the author does textual research on the eight Buddhist monks mentioned in Ouyang's poems and essays and their friendship with Ouyang. Third, the author lists Ouyang's praise and commendation for some Buddhist monks in history.The third chapter focuses on the epigraphs, essays and inscrptions Ouyang Xiu written for the temples. First, through the essays and inscrptions, the author explores Ouyang's thought and viewpoints of the Buddhist culture. Second, through the epigraphs, the author discusses the reason why Ouyang was fond of visiting the temples and the influence of those travelling on him.