Description
Book SynopsisThriving in Crisis is a systematic study of the late Ming Buddhist renewal with a focus on the religious and political factors that enabled it. Dewei Zhang explores the history of the boom in enthusiasm for Buddhism in the Jiajing-Wanli era (1522–1620), tracing a pattern of advances and retrenchment at different social levels in varied regions.
Trade ReviewIn this absorbing and beautifully crafted study, Dewei Zhang analyzes Buddhism's entanglement with elite politics during the volatile later reigns of the Ming dynasty. By treating local variations with careful precision while keeping his eye on the larger picture of Buddhism's rise and decline, he shows how the Buddhist renewal of the late Ming depended on where and who you were. It has been a decade since Ming Buddhism has been the subject of such a penetrating and original analysis. -- Timothy Brook, author of
Great State: China and the WorldThis book examines the interlocked relationships between Buddhism and social-political forces. Focusing on a delimited time span of one hundred years (1522-1620), the author uses case studies and quantitative analysis to show the roles emperors and empresses, inner court women and eunuchs, eminent monks, and scholar-officials played in the different trajectories Beijing and Jiangnan underwent in the revival of Buddhism. Zhang offers a sophisticated explanation about what late Ming Buddhist revival means, as well as how and why it happened. The book makes a major contribution to our understanding of late Ming Buddhism. -- Chün-fang Yü, author of
The Renewal of Buddhism in China: Zhuhong and the Late Ming SynthesisThe vibrant religious environment of late Ming Buddhism has up until now mainly been approached through the words and deeds of its most famous personalities. Dewei Zhang takes us one step further with his painstaking research into the social, political, and economic situation within which Buddhism flourished. No reader will come away from this book without a much better informed and better balanced sense of this important epoch in Chinese history. -- T. H. Barrett, author of
The Woman Who Discovered PrintingThriving in Crisis is a groundbreaking monograph that will provide a template for future studies in the Ming period, which is still little studied and deserving of much more attention. While previous studies have tended to focus on single figures or texts, this book offers a broad reach that will inspire further work. -- Albert Welter, author of
Religion, Culture, and the Public Sphere in China and JapanThis rich and nuanced study offers an entirely new perspective on how Buddhist institutions navigated a particularly tumultuous period of Chinese history. Zhang paints a vivid and detailed portrait of the key monastic figures and their patrons at court and in local society.
Thriving in Crisis is an impressive work of scholarship. -- James A. Benn, author of
Burning for the Buddha: Self-Immolation in Chinese BuddhismThis book is a superior monograph that provides an updated and comprehensive foundation for contextualizing the weaknesses to which Buddhism became vulnerable during the Ming, which lasted well into the Qing dynasty. * Buddhist Door *
A very useful and thought-provoking study in the history of Chinese Buddhism and its place in traditional society in general. It can be recommended not only to specialist readers, but also general readers, especially students of Chinese history, religion, and culture. * Studies in Chinese Religions *
The book is a welcome addition to the growing list of monographs that address Ming-Qing Buddhism. It charts new paths for
scholars interested in similar topics and would be of interest to scholars in the fields of Buddhist studies, Chinese religion, and Ming-Qing history, among others. * Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies *
This book makes a major contribution to our understanding of the late Ming Buddhist renewal. The author combines rigorous statistical analysis with an engaging in-depth historical narrative. These approaches are further enhanced by his skillful use of rich and varied original sources. This book will become indispensable for students of Ming Buddhism. -- Chun-fang Yu * H-Buddhism *
Well-written, clearly argued, persuasive book. * Choice *
Zhang Dewei is a rare and welcome example of someone who can handily
discuss both politics, power, court intrigue, and history on one hand and the
world of Buddhism and religious culture on the other. Readers interested in
either of these sides of the coin during this critical period of the Ming would
find much of value in this book, and it is a welcome contribution to this developing field. * Monumenta Serica *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
List of Tables
Preface
Abbreviations and Conventions
Chronology
Introduction
1. Setting the Stage
2. Emperor Jiajing (r. 1522–1566): A Four-Decade Persecutor
3. Empress Dowager Cisheng (1545–1614): A Great Patron
4. The Eunuchs: Organized but Not Always Reliable
5. Scholar-Officials: Struggling for the Right Position
6. Eminent Monks: Engaged in, or Entangled with the World?
7. Temples: Evolving Under Influence
8. Setbacks: Losing Beijing as a Growth Engine
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index
