10 The Buddhist-Christian Encounter in Modern China and the Globalization of Culture

Abstract

Buddhism and Christianity are among the most 'globalized' world religions, contributing enormously to the globalization of culture. This chapter consists primarily of a historical study of the formation, process, and impact of the Buddhist-Christian encounter in modern China from the perspective of the globalization of culture. It endeavours to show that the encounter was shaped by a number of factors that were part of the globalization of culture. These include the activities of Christian missions and the cross-cultural dissemination of Western science. Through focusing on some individuals involved in the encounter, namely Yang Wenhui 楊文會, Timothy Richard and Taixu 太虛, the chapter demonstrates that they also considered the meaning of the encounter against the global context. It shows that the impact of the encounter on both Buddhism and Christianity can be understood from the perspective of globalization. The chapter also addresses the theoretical discussion concerning the globalization of culture. Keywords: Buddhism; Christianity; globalization; modern China; Taixu; Timothy Richard; Western culture; Yang Wenhui