近代中國佛教改革=Buddhist reforms in modern China; 喝雲派=the Heyun lineage; 漳州南山寺=Nanshan Temple in Zhangzhou; 廈門南普陀寺=Nanputuo Temple in Xiamen; 閩南佛化新青年會=Association for the Buddhacization of the New Youth in Minnan
The building up of new Buddhist colleges was an indicator of modern Chinese Buddhist reform. Yet a Buddhist college cannot be built up overnight; the birth of Minnan Buddhist college, likewise, was a corollary of a series of reform efforts of Buddhism in southern Fujian. At the heart of modern Buddhist reforms in southern Fujian was the monks of the Heyun 喝雲 lineage in relation to the Nanshan temple. Between and 1925 when the Minnan Buddhist college was established, the Heyun sangha had encountered three big political crises: (1) the Taiping rebellion in 1860s, (2) the seizure of temples and temple properties by warlords after the establishment of the Republic in 1912, and (3) a superstition tax imposed by local governments. These crises urged the the Heyun sangha to self-help. The third crisis, moreover, also had impacts on lay Buddhist followers, facilitating the cooperation between monks and lay Buddhists, so as to bring the Buddhist reform in the area to another level. By examining these crises and the ensuing Buddhist responses, the article aims to analyze the following questions: first, how did the southern Fujian sangha reconstruct and revive temples in the area by travelling, studying in other places, and making use of their experiences and networks acquired in Jiangnan? Second, how did these monks, as time went by, make adjustments to the reform agenda, so as to shift the focus from “institution” to “education?” And third, in responding to the religious policies implemented by local governments, how did sangha and lay followers in southern Fujian self-reflect and go hand in hand to tackle the issues of Zhaijiao 齋教 and superstition, and lay the foundation of the construction of a new Buddhist college in the area?
