Some Aspects of the Conflicts of Religion in China during the Six Dynasties and T'ang Periods

Abstract

In the whole history of religious controversy in China there never was a period when the Chinese phrase I kuo san hung; wu shui shih ts'ung1: “One state, three leaders; whom should I follow ?” was more applicable than that which succeeded the introduction of Buddhism in the first century of our era. To understand the conditions of the period in question it is necessary to review briefly the situation before Buddhism arrived. Europeans have long been familiar with the early religion of China as described in the classics; but accepted interpretations are being revised in the light of modern archæological and ethnological research.