poetry and comparisons between MAHAYANABuddhist
thought and the Laoziand Zhuangzi—two Chinese clas-
sical texts that later became associated with Daoism—
resulted from this interaction.
Because Confucianism at this time comprised a dif-
fuse category of aristocratic pursuits and interests (at
least in part because the failings of Confucian statecraft
were considered responsible for the downfall of the
Han) rather than an exclusive set of doctrines and pre-
cepts, Buddhism began to surface as a formidable re-
ligious institution. During the early decades of the fifth
century, full translations of Indian Buddhist monastic
codes (VINAYA) were completed; the vinaya regulated
the lives of monks and nuns in Chinese monasteries in
ways that were more consistent with Indian societal
norms. This development prompted Emperor Wudi (r.
424–451) of the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534) to
initiate the first anti-Buddhist PERSECUTIONSat the re-
quest of both his Daoist and Confucian ministers Kou
Qianzhi (d. 448) and Cui Hao (381–450). Both advis-
ers wished to transform the state into a more sinified
society, and saw members of the recently disciplined
san ̇gha as world-renouncing and discourteous to the
emperor and secular worthies. Emperor Wudi of the
Northern Zhou (557–581) also accepted this rationale
and instigated anti-Buddhist persecutions that resulted
in the widespread defrocking of monks and nuns and
the confiscation of monastic property. These policies
indicate that by 446 the institutional footprint of the
Buddhist church was broad enough to challenge in-
digenous Chinese power blocks.
With the establishment of Sui hegemony over north
and south China by 589, the Buddhist church became
both an instrument of state promotion through its
Buddhist relic ( ́ars lra) distribution campaigns, and the
object of censure by Confucians and Daoists critical of
Buddhist economic and social influence throughout
China. During the early decades of the Tang dynasty
(618–907), Confucian and Daoist advisors submitted
memorials to the throne condemning the Buddhist
church for myriads of reasons, including claims of il-
legal ordinations, religious arrogance, commercial ac-
tivities, and tax evasion, which led emperor Gaozu (r.
618–627) in 626 to proclaim Confucianism and Dao-
ism the two pillars of the state. Prior to Empress Wu
Zhao’s (r. 690–705) foundation of the short-lived
Zhou dynasty and the An Lushan rebellion (755–763),
the Tang court and its Confucian administrators
adopted a policy of tepid tolerance toward Buddhism
and allowed it to expand. Emperor Taizong (r. 627–
650) famously sponsored XUANZANG’s (ca. 600–664)
translation projects after his return from India with
hundreds of Sanskrit manuscripts.Empress Wu Zhao forever changed the world of
Confucians and Buddhists in China. Her rise to power
conflicted with traditional Confucian ideology favoring
male rulers, which prompted her to institute sweeping
reforms in the Confucian official examination system.
Wu Zhao employed an open examination system for
officials in order to counter the power of the ingrained
aristocratic families who were hostile to her. Thus, the
examination system originally set up during the Han,
and institutionalized during the Sui, became a vehicle
to promote scholars who did not necessarily hail from
aristocratic or influential families. When the Tang rul-
ing house was reestablished under emperor Xuanzong
(r. 713–755), the cultivation of belles lettres—defined
as refined knowledge of the classics and the composi-
tion of poetry (shih)—remained the basis for receiving
the highest honors in the palace examinations as “pre-
sented scholars” (jinshi). Confucian learning during
Xuanzong’s reign was memorialized in the writings of
Wang Wei (701–761), Li Bai (701–762), and Du Fu
(712–770)—three of China’s greatest poets—while bu-
reaucrats implemented imperial decrees designed to
restrain the institutional power of Buddhist monaster-
ies, which had been extravagantly patronized by Wu
Zhao. In 725 Xuanzong traveled to sacred Mount Tai
to perform the Confucian state rites of fengand shan,
and during his reign he received Indian esoteric Bud-
dhists at court and helped to establish a small esoteric
Buddhist institution in China.The most significant anti-Buddhist persecution in
China occurred during the Huichang era (841–845).
Emperor Wuzong took note of memorials to the throne
by Confucian stalwarts like Han Yu (768–824)—who,
after witnessing a procession of a finger-joint relic of
the Buddha in 819, wrote the polemical Lun fogu biao
(Memorial on the Buddha’s Bone)—and adopted poli-
cies to suppress the influence of Buddhism throughout
Chinese society. Wuzong ordered the seizure of monas-
tic properties, expelled monks and nuns from monas-
teries, and prohibited youths from taking tonsure. By
845 Wuzong’s policies had led to the defrocking of
260,000 nuns and monks and the destruction of more
than 4,600 monasteries and 40,000 shrines. Wuzong’s
antiforeign decrees also effectively eradicated Zoroas-
trianism, Nestorian Christianity, and Manichaeism
from China in an attempt to address the threat that
the Uighurs and Tibetans posed from the northwest
and west.CONFUCIANISM ANDBUDDHISM