臺灣文學與佛教關係的系譜 : 從口傳文學、古典文學到現代文學=The Genealogy of Relation between Taiwanese Literature and Buddhism: Oral Literature、Classical Literature and Modern Literature
Taiwanese literature has long-standing relation with Buddhism. There were many Buddhist figures, plots, and concepts in folk stories and adages. During the Ming-Zheng era, Shen Guang-Wun (the first classical poet in Taiwan) had to become a Buddhist monk. During Ching empire occupation era, many classical literature recorded Buddhist ceremony, Buddhist temple, and the communication between writers and monks. During Japanese rule, a lot of monks was good at writing classical poetry and presented the poetry in newspapers and magazines. The writers of modern literature criticized the superstition of folk Buddhism, but did not negate the value of pure Buddhism. During post-war period, the Buddhist monk Ben Ji and kulapati Li Pin-Nan composed good quality and large quantity of classical poetry. Many anthologies of Buddhist fiction and essay were published. Modern poetry infused Zen philosophy successfully. Famous writers wrote biographies of Buddhist monks and had widespread influence in Taiwanese society. In brief, Taiwanese Buddhist literary work had big contribution to disseminate Buddhism. On the other hand, Buddhism affected the theme, writing style, and performance characteristics of literary works. Now, Taiwan is not only the center of Han Buddhism but also an important country for the writing of Mandarin Buddhist literature.
