haps most important of all, the South Seas Buddhist Associa-
tion. Nevertheless, Chinese Buddhists monastics managed to
preserve many of their core beliefs and practices, and did not
copy their Japanese brethren to the extent of getting married,
eating meat, and drinking wine.
The postwar era has witnessed the growth of four prom-
inent Buddhist organizations: the Buddhist Association of
the Republic of China, which until the 1960s served as the
state-approved and sole representative of Buddhists in Tai-
wan; the monastic order known as the Buddha’s Light
Mountain (Foguangshan), which was founded by Venerable
Master Xingyun (Hsing-yun; b. 1927) and promotes a form
of humanistic Buddhism advocated by the reformer Taixu
(1890–1947); the Compassionate Relief Merit Society (Ciji
gongdehui), which was founded in 1966 by Master Zhengy-
an (Cheng-yen;b. 1937) and has gained renown worldwide
for its charitable works; and Dharma Drum Mountain
(Fagushan), which was founded by Venerable Master
Shengyan (Sheng-yen; b. 1930) and emphasizes the impor-
tance of meditation and self-cultivation. The number of lay
Buddhists in Taiwan has also increased since the 1960s, but
since most Taiwanese tend to identify themselves as “Bud-
dhists” regardless of whether or not they have been initiated
into this religious tradition, the exact number of practicing
Buddhists in Taiwan is nearly impossible to quantify. One
new development has been the growing influence of exiled
Tibetan monks of the Tantric Buddhist sect, who have at-
tracted a sizeable following in Taiwan since the 1980s. The
Dalai Lama visited the island in 1997 and 2001.
DAOISM. Daoist practice can be bifurcated into monastic
and nonmonastic traditions, both of which have played im-
portant roles in the history of Chinese religions. In Taiwan,
however, the former tradition has almost no presence. The
nonmonastic tradition is far more influential, especially the
Celestial Master movement, the leader of which has the au-
thority to bestow ordination registers on Taiwanese Daoist
masters. A number of Daoist traditions that arose in south-
ern China are also prevalent in Taiwan, including the Lü-
shan, Pu’an, and Sannai movements. Hoklo and Hakka mas-
ters from China’s southern provinces of Fujian and
Guangdong transmitted these different forms of Daoism to
Taiwan during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and
scholars are only beginning to fully appreciate the variation
in distribution and practice among Daoist masters belonging
to different sub-ethnic groups, particularly in terms of their
liturgical traditions.
After the sixty-third Celestial Master Zhang Enpu fol-
lowed the Nationalist government into exile in 1949, he at-
tempted to restructure Taiwanese Daoism by founding the
Daoist Association of the Province of Taiwan and the Daoist
Assembly of the Republic of China. However, these organi-
zations have exerted only a limited influence on the Daoist
movements mentioned above. Their liturgical traditions, in-
cluding exorcistic and healing rites as well as mortuary ritu-
als, are still frequently performed today, and Daoist masters
continue to play key roles in communal festivals, particularly
those involving Daoist offerings (jiao; often referred to as
“rites of renewal”).
CHRISTIANITY AND OTHER FOREIGN RELIGIONS. The first
Christian missionaries arrived in Taiwan during the early
years of the seventeenth century. These included Spanish
Catholics who proselytized in the north and Dutch Protes-
tants who proselytized in the south. However, they do not
appear to have attracted many converts, and ended up being
driven out of Taiwan by Koxinga (1624–1662). No subse-
quent missionizing efforts took place until the second half
of the nineteenth century. Spanish Dominicans attempted
to preach the gospel among Plains Aborigines in the hills and
mountains of southern Taiwan, and educate catechists by
opening a seminary and training school, but these efforts
were largely unsuccessful until the early twentieth century.
English and Canadian Presbyterians exerted a far more sig-
nificant influence throughout Taiwan. Among the most re-
nowned Presbyterian missionaries of that era were Dr. James
L. Maxwell (1836–1921) and Dr. George L. Mackay (1844–
1901). Both combined proselytizing and healing: Maxwell
was an unordained medical missionary, while Mackay pulled
teeth and built hospitals. Like the Dominicans, the Presbyte-
rians were most successful in attracting converts among Tai-
wan’s Plains Aborigines, and were unable to make any in-
roads in Mountain Aborigine communities until the 1930s.
Despite initial slow growth and cases of persecution, the
Presbyterians were able to gain a significant following for a
number of reasons, including having women accompany
their missionary husbands (which allowed them to interact
far more freely with Han Chinese and Aboriginal women),
printing Bibles that used a romanized form of Southern Min
(Taiwan’s main local dialect), and publishing a journal enti-
tled The Church News beginning in July 1885. Now named
the Taiwan Church News, this journal is still being published
today, and may be the oldest church newspaper in East Asia.
Education also played an important role in Presbyterian mis-
sionizing efforts, with the Tainan Theological College being
formally founded in 1880, and middle schools and girls’
schools being set up during the late nineteenth century as
well.
Christianity flourished during much of the colonial era,
as the Japanese were initially tolerant of a religion that they
saw as representing Western modernity. The Dominicans
founded the Blessed Imelda School for Girls in 1917 in Tai-
pei, and also established catechist schools in central and
southern Taiwan, as well as the Santa Infancia of Holy
Childhood Orphanage in the south. In addition, Methodist
evangelists like Dr. John Sung (1901–1944), who converted
thousands of followers throughout Asia, proselytized in Tai-
wan. Japanese Christians also came to Taiwan, including
members of the Japanese Anglican (Episcopal), Congrega-
tional, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. The colonial
era also witnessed the development of two indigenous Chris-
tian churches: the Holiness and the True Jesus.TAIWANESE RELIGIONS 8963