The trend of Enlightenment thought, strengthened by its Western
counterpart and by modern science, helped generate skeptical and critical
attitudes towards all traditional religions among intellectuals and educated
young people. So in the early twentieth century, most of the discourses on
religion among Chinese scholars and intellectuals adopted a rational or
objective mood to some extent, if not a radical one that rejected religion
altogether (e.g. Zou 1903; Zhang T. 1985; Cai 1998). Although such a mood
was to be responsible for the lingering confusion of religion with superstition,
it made possible the rise of religious studies, which eliminated the apologetic
stance of Confucianism, Buddhism, or Daoism. This helped to provide a
characteristic of the newly born discipline, that is a critical motif, at the same
time as it gave the discipline its presupposition, namely, a rational attitude.
The spread of Western learning, widened by the introduction of the
humanities and social sciences, brought to scholars some entirely new ideas,
theories, and methodologies. For example, Hu Shi, one of the most influential
scholars in moderm China, introduced to Chinese academia and adopted in
his own studies empirical methodologies in general and in particular the
pragmatic ideas and theories of John Dewey. As a result, from the beginning
of the twentieth century, Liang Qichao (1873–1929), Hu Shi (1891–1962),
Chen Yinque (1890–1969), Chen Yuan (1880–1971), and other outstanding
scholars were able to study religions on a level that transcended traditional
horizons, applying some modern methods of Western learning to their studies.
Their attention to the achievements of archaeology was quite new. This Western
discipline was unknown to traditional Chinese historians.
Another characteristic of this first stage of religious studies arose from the
far-reaching influence of traditions of historical and textual research, that is
the major achievements centered on the field of the history of religion. We
may mention, among others, Liang Qichao (2005), Hu Shi’s study of early
Zen, Chen Yin-que’s studies of Buddhist Scriptures and of Daoism, and Chen
Yuan’s studies of histories of Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Islam, Buddhism,
Daoism and Catholicism in ancient China.
Yet a third characteristic of the newly emerged religious studies in China
was the important role played by scholars within religious circles. As many
Western Christian scholars contributed significantly to the formation of the
scientific study of religion, many Chinese Christian scholars and other religion-
affiliated scholars contributed a great deal to the rise of the discipline in China,
honestly and positively reacting to and reflecting on the criticism of their
religions. In fact, some learned religious scholars, including church people and
missionaries, were themselves initial proponents of Western learning and
modern ideas, theories and methodologies. Buddhists, including monks,
established many modernized academic institutions for the study of Buddhism,
among them Yang Wen-hui (1837–1911), Yue Xia (1858–1917), Master Tai
Xu (1889–1947), Han Qing-jing (1884–1949), and Ouyang Jian (1871–1943).
1111
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1011
1
2
3111
4 5 6 7 8 9
20111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
30111
1
2
3
4
35
6
7
8
9
40111
42222
3
411
CONTINENTAL EAST ASIA
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