teachings were drawn to Buddhism’s sophisticated
doctrines, colorful rituals, and vast array of practices,
including MEDITATION. Buddhist teachings and prac-
tices bore reassuring (if often superficial) resemblance
to those of Daoism, while they also provided original
avenues for spiritual growth and inspiring answers to
questions about ultimate values. The growth of Bud-
dhism was further enhanced by the adaptability of the
Mahayana traditions that were imported into China.
The favorable reception of Buddhism was greatly aided
by its capacity to be responsive to native cultural
norms, sociopolitical demands, and spiritual predilec-
tions, while at the same time retaining fidelity to basic
religious principles.
During the period of division, Buddhism in the
north was characterized by close connections between
the clergy and the state, and by interest in thau-
maturgy, asceticism, devotional practice, and medita-
tion. In contrast, the south saw the emergence of
so-called gentry Buddhism. Some southern elites (a
group that included refuges from the north) who were
interested in metaphysical speculation were especially
attracted to the Buddhist doctrine of S ́UNYATA(EMPTI-
NESS), which was often conflated with Daoist ideas
about the nature of reality. The southern socio-
religious milieu was characterized by close connections
between literati-officials and Buddhist monks, many of
whom shared the same cultured aristocratic back-
ground. Despite two anti-Buddhist PERSECUTIONSdur-
ing the 452–466 and 547–578 periods, by the sixth
century Buddhism had established strong roots
throughout the whole territory of China, and had per-
meated the societies and cultures of both the northern
and the southern dynasties. Moreover, Chinese Bud-
dhism was exported to other parts of East Asia that
were coming under China’s cultural influence, above
all Korea and Japan.
The reunification of the empire under the Sui dy-
nasty (589–618) is often designated as the starting
point for the next phase in the evolution of Chinese
Buddhism. Under the pro-Buddhist Sui regime, and
especially during the succeeding Tang dynasty
(618–907), Chinese Buddhism reached great heights of
intellectual creativity, religious vitality, institutional
vigor, and monastic prosperity. Throughout the Sui-
Tang period, Buddhism was widely accepted and prac-
ticed by members of all social classes, from poor
peasants to aristocrats and the royal family. A number
of Tang emperors offered lavish patronage to Bud-
dhism, although such support was usually accompa-
nied by efforts to control the religion and harness its
power and prestige for political ends. By this time, the
early rapprochements between Buddhism and the Chi-
nese state evolved into a close relationship between the
two. Despite the earlier efforts on the part of monas-
tic leaders to secure a semblance of independence for
the monastic community, Buddhism became firmly in-
tegrated into the sociopolitical establishment. With
their prayers and rituals the clergy accrued merit and
provided supernatural protection for the dynasty and
the state. Buddhism also provided the rulers with an
additional source of legitimacy, which was used in an
especially skillful manner by Empress Wu Zetian (r.
684–705), the only female monarch in Chinese history
and one of the greatest patrons of Buddhism. In ex-
change, the state offered political patronage and fi-
nancial support to the Buddhist church, and bestowed
on the clergy various benefits such as exemption from
taxation, corvée labor, and military service. The state
also asserted its right to control key aspects of religious
life, including bestowal of monastic ordinations, build-
ing of monasteries, and entry of new texts into the Bud-
dhist canon.During the Sui-Tang period Buddhism was by far
the most powerful and creative religious and intellec-
tual tradition in the empire, eclipsing both Confu-
cianism and Daoism (even though the other two
traditions also flourished during this period). The
main schools of Chinese Buddhism, such as Tiantai,
Huanyan, and Chan, were also formed during this era,
thereby giving rise to uniquely Sinitic systems of Bud-
dhist philosophy and methods of praxis. The strength
of Buddhism and the durability of its institutions were
severely tested during the Huichang era of Emperor
Wuzong (r. 841/842–845), who initiated the most dev-
astating anti-Buddhist persecution. The emperor or-
dered destruction of virtually all monasteries in the
empire and mass return to lay life of the clergy. The
onset of the persecutions was influenced by a number
of complex factors, including the influence of the em-
peror’s Daoist advisers, economic considerations, dis-
may over monastic corruption, and latent anti-Buddhist
sentiments among pro-Confucian officials. Even
though the persecution was short-lived and Buddhism
quickly rebounded, many scholars see the persecution
as a turning point and the beginning of the extremely
protracted decline of Buddhism in China.Historical overview: Eleventh century
to present
Late imperial China—covering the period from the
Song (960–1279) until the end of the Qing dynastyCHINA