晚唐佛教=Late Tang Dynasty; 圓仁=Ennin; 圓珍=Ennchin; 入唐求法巡禮行記=The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law and Ennchin (814-891) writes Ennchin’s Diary; 行歷抄; 會昌法難
Buddhism was derived from the 6th to 5th century B.C. It was introduced to China in the Eastern Han Dynasty and reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty which was the Buddhist center of the oriental world. During that time, there were a great number of Buddhists coming from the neighboring countries to study Buddhist doctrines in the Tang Dynasty. Buddhism was introduced into China as a totally different kind of culture and gradually became the core of Chinese culture. It was originally a kind of aristocratic belief popularized in the upper class of the society and was spreading in the general civilian society as well as competed with Taoism developed in the local China on equal terms. Buddhism is a type of foreign culture. Upon the contact with China, it is accepted as the reigning tool of a King on the one hand and rejected as the oppositions of Buddhism on the other hand. The Huichang Opposition of Buddhism started by Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty is a key for Chinese Buddhism turning from prosperity to decline for a great number of ancient Buddhist books, records and cultural systems were destroyed at that time. Fortunately, Japanese Buddhists in the Tang Dynasty brought back Buddhist sutras and preserved a lot of Buddhist culture. Mikado successively dispatches diplomatic corps to the Tang Dynasty in a formal manner to study for 19 times for the purpose of importing institution, regulations, systems and culture of the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, the spread of Buddhism plays a vital role among the imported cultures. The Buddhist scriptures and doctrines brought back by the Japanese Buddhists lay the foundation for the development of the Japanese Buddhism and reflect what Buddhism looked like in the late Tang Dynasty. Ennin (794-864), Japanese Buddhist of Tiantai Sect who learned in the Tang Dynasty, writes The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law and Ennchin (814-891) writes Ennchin’s Diary. Both of them entered in the Tang Dynasty successively in the period of Opposition of Buddhism. The vicissitudes of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty can be observed in another perspective from their observation records. They recorded the relationship between Buddhism and the country, different kinds of Buddhist activities and rituals occurred in the late Tang Dynasty and social functions of the temples. Through the first hand biography data of the two, the study deals with Buddhist phenomenon in the late Tang Dynasty on the basis of religion. The paper is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter is the introduction which states the research motive and briefly introduces the literature review. The second chapter is records of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism exchange. It discusses the exchange history of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism and introduces Ennin’s experience and Ennin's Diary, The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law; and Ennchin’s experience and the value of Ennchin’s Diary. The third chapter is the relationship between Buddhism and the country which tells the characteristics of Buddhi
